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Australian Journal of Botany Australian Journal of Botany Society
Southern hemisphere botanical ecosystems
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Seasonal pollen distribution in the atmosphere of Hobart, Tasmania: preliminary observations and congruence with flowering phenology

D. Y. P. Tng A C , F. Hopf B , S. G. Haberle B and D. M. J. S. Bowman A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, Tas. 7001, Australia.

B Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: syptng@utas.edu.au

Australian Journal of Botany 58(6) 440-452 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT10095
Submitted: 21 April 2010  Accepted: 12 July 2010   Published: 8 September 2010

Abstract

The atmospheric pollen loads of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, were monitored between September 2007 and July 2009. To examine the match of the airborne pollen composition with the flowering duration of their contributing plants, the phenology of native and non-native plants in various habitats near the pollen-trapping site was undertaken between August 2008 and July 2009. The pollen load was found to have a strong seasonal component associated with the start of spring in September. This is incongruent with the peak flowering season of the total taxa in October. In most taxa, atmospheric pollen signatures appeared before flowering was observed in the field. The presence of most pollen types in the atmosphere also exceeded the observed flowering duration of potential pollen-source taxa. Reasons for this may be related to the sampling effort of phenological monitoring, pollen blown in from earlier flowering populations outside of the sampling area, the ability of pollen to be reworked, and the large pollen production of some wind-pollinated taxa. In 2007–2008, 15 pollen types dominated the atmosphere, accounting for 90% of the airborne pollen load. The top six pollen types belonged to Betula, Cupressaceae, Myrtaceae, Salix, Poaceae and Ulmus. Comparatively, the annual pollen load of Hobart is lower than in most other Australian cities; however, the pollen signal of Betula is inordinately high. Native plants play a minor role as pollen contributors, despite the proximity of native habitats to the pollen-sampling location. The implications of the aerobiological observations are discussed in relation to public health.


Acknowledgements

We thank Lim Chee Liew and Scott Nichols for maintaining the monitors and preparing the collection strips, and Greg Jordan for helpful discussions. Ben Keaney and Mike MacPhail of ANU assisted in pollen identification. We also thank Silver Huang and two anonymous reviewers who made useful comments on the manuscript. The project was supported by ARC LEIF No. LEO882682 to Simon Haberle of ANU and David Bowman of UTas.


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Appendix 1.   Checklist of the plants monitored from August 2008 to July 2009 that are potential pollen sources of the key pollen types in the atmospheric pollen spectrum in Hobart
The flowering period is indicated by shaded boxes. I denotes a non-native status
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