Polr ll 10: 79-9/( / 999)

AEROBIOLOGICAL DYNAMICS OF THE URTICACEAE POLLEN IN SPAIN, 1992-98

Belmonte, J.' ; Canela, M.'; Guárdia, R.1; Guardia, R.A.'; Sbal, L.' ; Vendreli, M.' ; Alba, F.' ; Alcázar, P.'; Cabezudo, 8 .5 ; Gutiérrez,

M.'; Méndez, J.' & Valencia, R.•

' Un dad de Botánica, FacJitad de Ciercias, Univers idad Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193·Ballaterra, Barcelooa. Spain.

' Deoartamema de MatemAtica Aplicada y AnáliSis, Univers'dad de Barcelona, OB007·Barcelona, Spain.

' Dcpanamcrllo de 8 elogia VC!Jetal, Facu tao de Cienc ns, Universidad de Granada, 18001 ·Granada, Spaln.

' Departamento de Biolo~ia Vegetal, Campus de Rabanales, Universidad de Córdoba, 1407t·Córdoba, Spain.

5 Depanamenlo de Blolagla Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias, Unr1ers•dad de Málaga, 2BOBO·Málaga, Spain.

• Deparlamento de Biolo!¡ia Vegetalll, Faculted de Farmacia, Unr1ersidad Complutense de Madrid, 28()l.O-Madrid, Spain. ' Departamento de B elogia Vegetal y Ciencias del Suelo,

Universidad de VI!IO. 32004-0urense- Spaln ' Depanamcnto da Bio agia Vege:al. Facullad de B1ologia,

Universidad de León, 24071·León, Spain.

SUMMARY: In Spain, the Urticaccac famil} is composed of fom sen ero U u ira (five spccics). J1ariemria (thrcc spccics). and Solr lfolia and Fnrsi knolr'n (ene spcc¡cs cach). The synony my of Lhe scicntitic uarnei o( thc.sc spccies m Spain is givcn, togcthcr with lheir distribution :! nd now~ ri ng petiCldS. \Ju ic:aceae ( 11lui.:tnn~r) polleu Í!J :"11CI'genic:.tly impcrt:uu. Thc pollcn rccords from 1992-9S a l 15 si te:s of the Sp:mish Acrobiology Nl'l\\Or~ (Red E:.~ñola <k AerobiologJa. REA) are swdicd. Therc is no p:m of Spain free o( UrtÍC:ICt3t pollen; it i~ ~bu ndnnt in tcmper.nc urb:m cn\•tronrucn~ nt::u lh!! littaral. Out rue in !he inlartd ar.d collkr rtgions. Thc pollcn is prcsf;.:.fll <'11 rhe ycar rourtt·t, and rotlin:nioo pcnods ma.y differ from pl:n:e 10 p,acc l.M."Ca~ the proponic ns o( lhe: specics composing this taxon ch:mge The polln qu:111tities recordcd dc:pcnd, r.ot onl)r on mctcoro!ugical factors, hut also on ta.mun aclivilics. In this papc::r. thc u~c of pollcn catcgoties inslt ad or pollcn cooccntr:Hions ts rccommcndcd i11 ord~r to simplify 1he prcsenr:uion or the infonnation These c:l.tegOI' ies nmst be sptcific (or each pollt11 type nnd, in thcir dcfinilton. rhe ~ llcrgy sensi rin t1on leve! tnU5t be considc rc d. Finally. thc USt! of rhe main pollen scason (MPS) in thc ch:tr:Jctcnlíllion of lhc acrobr ologic:tl dynamics or l 'rticacr ... 'lc i-; díscu!i<ed. KEY \VORDS: Acrobiology. :1lletgy. l'arirwrw, palien catc&ories, pollcn lcvcl.s. Spa.in. Un ira.

Rl:.SUMEN: En Es¡J;Jña la familia Uuicacta!! está compueMa por 4 géneros: Urlka (cmco especies), ParitiMifl (lrc:s especies), )' SlJII!irufta '! Pors~taolrn (una cspcctc calla uno). Junto a 13 distrihución y 13 flor.tdó:a ele C'Sil $ c~pcc1~ se d;J.n los s iuóc:l in:IOS de los nombres Cltntíftoos en Esp:~ ña El polen de urti\.1i.'e41S (Purirmria) ti ene imporL1nci3 :alergénicl En este ttabajo se :~.naliza'l los registms ¡w>lhicos de Urtie:tccac de 15 t'S13Cioncs d:: la Kcd Esl"'ñol3 de Aerobiologb (REA). recog1dos dm n10 el pcrlc:lo 1992-1998. Pr.lcricarncn­tc, no tuy mngun:a zc:u d~: Espaii:l hbt( \le polen de urtidcea!:l . Es :abund3nle en bs ¡_ona.s urbanas tempi:Lda) ¡>IÓ\Ímas JI l ilor::~~ l. } rara en las Mt: .lS interiores (r(as El polen cs1á

79

Be/momc et al.

pn:scntc en In atmósfcrü <.lunmte tO<.lo el año, aunque los pcrfodos de pol im~cióa difieren de un Jugar a o tt O, debido a que: las proporciones de I:JS difcrcnles eSJ>t.'Cies que componen este t:axon vari:m de un lugar a otro . Las cantidades c.Je polen rcgistl"3das dependen no sólo de los factores meteorológicos sino tambié11 de la nctívidad hunu n:t. En cst~: trabajo se dan argumentos •l fa vor del uso de categorías poHnicas en Jugar de conn~ntra ciones. ¡Ja ra simpli ficar la presentación de la información . Estas c:Hegorías dehc•·ian ser especifi cas para cada tipo polínico, y al cstablecerl ;ts se deben tomar en consideración el nh•cl de sensibil ización alérgic<~. Fi11almentc, se discute el uso del periodo de polinización pri ncipal para carncteriz:~ r la dinámic:~ :~erobi ológic:J de Unic:Jt:<:ac. PALA U RAS CLAVE: AcrobiologfJ, ;,. lergia. categorías polinic:ts, Cspaña, ni\·t:les polínicos. Pariewria, Unira.

INTRODUCflON

Thc Urticaceae fami ly consists of aboul 52 genera and lOSO spec ies mainl y di st ributed in tropical and subtr O¡>ica\ regions, wilh relalivcly fcw spccics in the tempera te ureas. Only 10 species are nati ve lo the lberian peninsula; some of them are widespread, bul Olhcrs grow in nnly a very restricted area. They are generally herbs or small shrubs, although on rare occasinns they may be climbers and ha ve opposite or alternate simple !caves. Plants are mostly ancmophilous and dioecious,monoecious or polygamous. Flowers are unisexual, small

S¡K'dts n owt• rin¡; .eriod llabit.1t

Unirn bimrorii (K noche) Puiva

and individually inconspicuous. mainly in axillary ur terminal spike-l ike cymose inllorescences. MaJe flowers coma in four to f1vc stamens, seldom only ene, which develop curved inwards. Whcn lhe rcs istancc uffcrcd by the perianth is overcome. usually in sunny dry wcathcr, the filamems suddenly straighten and the anthers dehisce and cjccl a small cloud of pol\en gmins. Female llowers presem four, . omctimcs fivc,dislinctor moreor lessconnate sepals, or no perianlh, and an ovary superior. Fruits are achenes. Information about the Urticaccac family can be found in BOLOS & VIG0(1989),HEYWOOD( l%l),MABBER­LEY ( 198i). and \VEBERU.¡G (1989).

Allilude tm) C<'ogrnpllital di~ribu tioa

M3.llorc-.t ~U. nrr01·irl'ns subsp. b1'(1norii

noche) Fon1 i Qu~r :md Garciru; m)

V-VIII Wastcl:mds n~:v lhe mHI 35()-laxl f:Menli : Of50mc i~llndJ in \V oflilc Mcditcmaeln re~;)fl

Throu_shout lbcrian ¡lcninsula eMttpt:

Wastclandst r.rnb~e !1mds lhe driCSlVC!llinthCSE llnicr.diiJim L IV- l .'! nnd n ~ar btuldings 100..2500

~~~!~~~~~~~~:~~~!! .ions

Wastcl:!ntls. n~r Co:a~LJJ e.as of:l.lllberian ¡xninsull Unicn lllll'mlmmnccn Poir. in L:un. 11- IX buildin~s.:ulddi!>ll.itbcd ().1000

¡¡[(;lS :O.Ieditcrr.tneon rq;io.1

W:u;lel::.rtd$.nt.lr ,\l:aiah in lbeE of th: lberian

Ur1ü ·t1 pú11l1[nn L U- IX bu ildi n¡sand diJturbcd ().1000 ocniníubbut a.ll~shind~ C.

:u"( ::JI ,\icditt-rrJnt::ln rcgjon n.'ld SW Asi::l

Thlou l~a~ I IIJoerian peni r..wb

Unfr(l llf"t'IUL 111-X :.roble llnds. ~"Jsccl:tndJ ().15110 Throush('UI !Zurope e"ctpt in lhc: :ltld •~~e:~~buildings C:<utme ~.lcmpcr.ne A 51' :ltld N

AJfiel. ¡¡d\CMti\CinAuJtnli:l :li'IJ Amcrb

TABLE 1. Floral phenology and disl rioul ion ol lhe Urtica species on the lberian peninsula.

80 Polen

The Urtica genus is the best repre­sent<XI, wi th fi vc wild specics found in the lberian peninsula. They are mainly annual or pcren nial herbs and generally ha vc slinging hairs. Table l summarizes thc nora! phenology and the mai n distribution charactcristics uf thc ncltlcs growing on thc lberian peninsula.

The Parietaria genus consists of aboul 20 species. but only three of them grow as natives on the lberian peninsula. They are annual nr pcrcnnial hcrbs, usually pubcsccnt and do not have stinging hairs. Table 2 summarizes the floral phenology and the main distribution characlcristics of thc pcll itory species growing on tl1e lberian peninsula.

The remaining h•o genera are presem in a very reslricted area on lhc lbcrian peninsula. The Soleirolia genus. with a sin­gle ; pccies (Soleirolia soleirolii), is a creeping perennial herb native to tl1e islands of the we 1 Mediterranean region. 1t can be fmmd bolh cultivaled or naluralizcd. Thc Forsskaofea genus consists of six species. but only F. tetwcissima grows on tl1e !be' ian peninsula, and exclusive! y in Almcría. Tablc 3 summarizes the nora! phenology and the main distribution charactcristics for these two species on the lberian pemnsula.

Sptcies F1o"·cring ~no.s

Aerub) ola)/)' of U11icuccac in Spai11

[¡ is wc\1 known lha!. in Europe, Pan e­raria palien clicus sc,ere polli nosis , and no cross-reacuon has been found betweeo Pariewrü1 and Urtira poli en (LEWIS el al., 1983). Whi lc Parietaria is a wcll-known pollinos is-provoking pl.tnl, typical of the Mcd ite rraue~ n arca, Urrica i~ allcrgcnically unimpartanl (D' l\MJ\TO eral., 199 1). The H!J)' long pcriod o'cr which Parietatia pollcn is present 111 the atmosphcre causes the muluseasonal duration of the symptoms shown by scnsttizcd pnticnts. lt is :tlso possible 10 rind percnntal sympto ms (D' AMATO eta l., 1991).

Since Un ica and Pari~wria pollcn grains cannot be distinguished under light microscopes (only U. membra11acell can be clearly rccognizablc). acrobtological results usually rcfcr lo Urticaceac pollen.

Despite lhc allcrgcnic signi licancc of 1h1s palien typc. liltlc research has been devoted to li nding critica! thresholds for allergic symptoms in pmients. o· A MATO et al. (199 1) cstimates the thrcs)lo ld for Parietaria is 30 palien grains pcr cubic mc­tcrofair (p/m;). NEGRIN I et al. (1992) found mJid symptoms with concentrations above 10-!5 p/m1 and sevcrc symptoms whcn thc poli en counl exceeded 80 p/m1 over 24 h

Habltat Allhutk\nl) Gtogrr.plai(:~l tl islributlon

111rc'ltl l!hl'-'l !lx..T1nn >eni 1 sul.1 :~J:f~~~~ ~~~~~~¡:,~n (l..) ~uiDOI: z P. f¡1mif1l''aMocncfl: 111-X Wll.l i\, IIC:li'IJuildih&!>·U1d \tfSC:S ll-llOO SW uf 1\lloi:•. S rand W Eauopc:

, ÓJQ'r~rn Mcrt. r..rd Kcdl} ami f\·kd•k:n.me.u• re¡;ion

Sc\t'f11llln:as in E .md .S uf fbcrian .:nin~ul :.

l"o~tieUl'U iuslta::iuL \'- VIl Walls:andllf'at talildinp (}-50() \ledii C'"ta!lC • .tn ~ti ,m an J S\\'

""' \la.nly m d~ S (J( t."le 1 fi .in ftutt:nrWl m;uiwtia lAiricu 111-Y \V~bmdR;wbaiJdlnp (}-;()0 leal ~ul.a

NW CJ( Africl . .r.J SW r..atropc

TABLE 2. Floral phenology and dislribulicn el the Pariela ria species on lhe lberian peninsula.

Vol. 10 (1999) 81

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Belmolfle et al.

Urt icaceae poli en appe~ 1 s in 1he almospheric spectra at a ll Spani' h si tes (as n01ed by ~cvcral aull10rs in REA (Red Es­pañola de Aerobiología) bulle1ins 1 and 3-5. Thi,; taxon has been 1rea1ed wi1h special emphasis by 1h.: fo llowing aulhors: ROlJRE and BELMONTE (1 987), who firs1 auempted lo prcdicl pollination levels; TRlGO eral. ( 1996), who looked al an nual. daily and diurna! variations 1n Málaga; ALCÁZAR et al. ( 1998), who studicd lile venical vJriation of pollen conccmralions al Córdoba; and CHAPARRO (1987), who su mmarized Urticaccac pollen counts in Andalucía from 198 1 10 1983. Compar isons of pali en dynamics al severa! Spanish si 1c~ have al so been s1udic.:d (SUBIZA. 1 987 ; MAÑAS el al .. 1990; 13ELMO:\"TE & RO URE. 199 1; Go;-..¡zALEZeral., 1998).

MATEIUo\LANDMETIIODS

In thc prescnt paper Urticaceac pollen aerobiological da m (TOm 15 Sp:mish silcsduring 1he period 1992- 98 were analysed. All of 1he s1a1ions are intc¡,!rated in REA, lile Spanish Aerobiology Network. Tablc 4 crmtains the na mes of the acrobiological sampling stations and their main gcographical and climalie charac1eristics. 1ñ e duration of thc sampling periods in cach smtion is in Table 5.

Spcc~ Flo" ~du¡; pcritrd

All dala wereobtaincd using sevcn-day volumctric Hirsl-t)'pc spore 1r:1ps (H IRST, 1952), following the method adopted by REA (DOML'lGL'EZer o/., 1991 ). Only com­plete annual series were ineluded in 1hi;; sludy. Gaps m 1heda1a series ha ve been fi lled by linear in1erpolat10n. \Vhen 1his was not realistic beca use of the amount of missing daw, the whole annual series was excluded from thc s!Udy. The basic data are, as usual, the mean daily pollen concenuation expressed in !he numbcr of poli en grains per cub1c mc1er of a ir (p/m;).

ln 1he an:~l ysis of thc variation of this pollen a1 1he sites swdicd. four .1spoc1s ha ve bccn considcred. In thc annual summary, we give. for each s1a1ion and year, the sum of 1hc 365 mean daily concentration' (annual sum), thc highcst mean daily concemration of1he year (maximum), and tl1o co1 responding date. We h:~ve establlshcd thc main pollcn ;casan (MPS) fo llowi ng NIL SON :md PERSSOK ( 1981) and haYe included in 1he summary rhe 101al pollen during 1hc MPS. 1hc bcginning and ending dates. and the durauon.

ln !he third area of analysis, daily pollcn eonccn1rations ha ve been transformcd inro an ordinal. O-+ scalc. Thc catcgorics for the ordinal scale were delined in :1 prcv1ous

llabll!l t ¡\Jtilutl e(ru) Ctoen¡•hic::tldi.Uribatkln

~l¿JJon:Oll

Sol .. itt>lit~ S4).'tfr(t/ii(Re4.) I>J.M)' M"'h·C.kiOXI 1 ú··es. diffti an!i 1odJ ~700 bl1ndiol\V McdJ1or ... c•

""~ Al•.u

Fornftt()/t,., unar~¡,.., L. t\ plil4.klub. ~ o~;u~dahn;J uad! loi 1 1 ff~~~ ~A'frl:!~ Mil

TABLE 3. Floral phenology and disl ribuüon ol lile Soleirolia and Forss ~aotea ganus on 111a lberian penlnsuta.

82 Polen

study (BELMO:-ITE el al .. in press) ~nd ~re bascd on thc cxperi"ncc of thc rcscarch group. Thc ordinal scale denned for herb plams (Urticaceae in this paper) is presemed in Table 5. where 11 corresponds 10 mean daily pollcn conccntrations.

Finally, lookin¡: for ~ graphical symhcsis of the annual dynamics of the palien at each sue. a week has been used ~s the time unit. Following the convenlion th~t the first week of the ycar is the one that comams the first Thursday. we have convened each daily data series into the corresponding mean weekly poll en concen trations . Thcn wc have c:dculmcd, for cach station and wcck nf the ye.1r, the mean value and thc highest value of the period studied. Two series for e~ch si te, onc for the mean, ~nd tllc other ior the maximum, are plollcd in e<Jch of thc linc chans of F1gures 1, 2 and 3.

RESULTSAND OISCUSSION

Table 5 can be analyscd fro m scvcntl poims of view. Looking at the amoum of

CcoJrapbic"lll R .....

Atr.bWocicat Stadon

AIEii:Wilk (m) CfO,.aphkal C"..eonftnatl!'o

Girrru 125 .ws.: N.O:"' .t6'E ~1..rut~ 291 .a¡•.,,¡ N,OI"30 t

Nonf•·f.M~ U.J:"l:b ..., -W 37 N. CX1"1.!. h lkll.lcm 2<S "I" J4 N. OZO!XI C !Wc:cloru ~ ~::~-~:~~ :: 1 T~~X.l •s

.~UIIli•Wc í l Swu:-c;o 210 Jr"jJ'N, ()t' J.!'W VIJ') so l2" U'N, ()R" 4J'W

No.., l.< Ir. !JO 4!4 !~' N,OS"3S'W

Cc·tcr Ma:i:id rol 40'2TN,Ol" 4$'W

C6ol ... ID }'r~N.~"4$'W

"" j(.(J l1"4f/ K.OJ" 4T \\' S... e;,. ... 6SS l':'" II' N.Or' lj' l;\.

MlLifl S )(j'4':"N,DJ:"I'i\lio

ÚI<?O"' o ló'15 N,D54 3'rw

tlerob)olo~¡y of Umcnceae ;,. Spain

pol\en collcctcd throughnut thc ycar (annual su m). the si te " here Urucaceae poli en ~lteincd the highest lcvel was Vigo. followed by the Meditc rrancan stations Manrcsa, Giro na. Tarragona and IJarcelona. th e And~ lusian stations Granada and Córdoba, and also th e Medi tcrrancan st atinn Bc\latcrra. León and Madrid wcre. by far.the si tes wnh thc lowcst lcvcl~. followcd by San­llago de Compostela. Málaga. Llc1da. Jaén. and Estcpona.

T he exp lJna t io n for lhis pollcn distribution is as fo l\ows. Urtic-accae poi\ en is abundant in urban "nvironmcnts near to the littoral. but rarc in thc inland and coldcr regions of thc pcninsula. Some southern cities with largc, old neighbuurhonds also produce importa m quanti ties of Urticaceac polleo, possibly duc to thc abundance of h~bit~ t s where Pnril.'taria plants grow. This is in accord with thc results reponed in the Spanish literature cited in the lmroduction (GONZÁLE7. et al., 1998; MAÑAS etal., 1990). Neverthe less, the rcsults of this study do not favo ur 1hc argument that relates the

,\ lu a Ann .. l T~•~r.t~ttln'C"'C)

JS.O 14() MC\Jd~JTWlUJI

J)S 6f.5 Mco&.cenanu n IH " ' " ~1tdectn:tntlll'l 1.5 2 611 Mabtcr1Jm::.1~

lú.5 S'9.S Mr{!;te-r.ulc31'1

16.7 ·U2 Mrd1LU1JJ e.m

12,, 12U Tclll(!CB&Lc ~ ukl oce.1nlc 14.9 1 4 1 ~ Tcn,pcr.a!C col<l occanle

IO,D 5'0 ftanr-.::ratc: cold 'or.tincmal

IJ.D <l6 Trmrcr•tc cukl contu•enW

IS.!l GOO Mahln¡rcJ:'l '3:Kir.ental 17.0 ~9~ M<dJteT.IJl(.,l'l r,.Unm~l

15,1 '""' Coolnrnt.&l mcllkrr..nc.-t IS.O , ... S'S l'lc:dttrrlr\Un'.a~l ,,. MoJ terr ... tun utluo¡)ial

TABLE 4. Aarob.clogical samptillg sllltions and m<~in geographical and ctimal"c characteristics.

Vol. 10 (1999) 83

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8elmome eral.

amount of Urticaceae pollcn to the lcvcl of industrial activity nt a si te (GONZÁLEZ •r al., 1998;JAGER <rai.,J991).

Taking into w nsidcration the mean daily maximum concemration (Tublc 5), Vigo is once again the station whcrc the higher values were obtaincd, with .J04 plm' on 29/ 03/96. Stations where import an¡ daily maximum lcvcls wcrc also reached werc Girona (303 p/m1 on 22/02198) and Granada (305 p/m1 on 15/Q?JJS). The lowest mean daily muximum concentrations observed in a ycar wcrc 13 plm' a l Lc<in 0 11 15/08195 and at Ma­drid on 04/05/97.

Two differen t ways to analyse the prevalence of Urti caceae po llen in the atmosphcrc are presented in Table 5 and Fig­ures 1, 2 and 3. In Tablc5. mean da1ly pollcn concemra1ions for cach station and year ha ve been categorized and prcscnted in the form of frequencies related toa 0--4 ordinal se:~ le. According to thc expcricnce of thc Catalan rese.1rch group,lcvcls O and 1 (<5 p/ m1) are not suspected of causing allergic rcactions. Problems in highly scnsitized paticnts appear whcn leve l 2 (5-20 p/m') is reached and the poli en clcarly causes allergic responses in people when concentrations reach levels 3 (20-30 p/m1)or.:J (> JOp!m'). lt has to be taken i nto account that in the Catalan stations (thosc cited as north-cast stations in Table 4). most nf thc Urt icaceae pollen is supposed to be, by phenological and pl ant di str ibut ion observations, Parietaria pollcn.

These results ma ke us think that thc thresholds for allergic symptoms proposed in the li terato re are too high for theSpanish stalions. In the Barcelona arca. where it is thP m:~inlnnlkn ;d1co•<·n tht-·, J"' rf"v:.l('nC"e 0f

sensitivity to Parietnria is 3.5';;: (BOTE Y et al., 1998). In Vigo. Parietaria causes 12%of

84

pollmos1s and is the second most important pol!en allergen (MARCH eral .• 1993; BELMONTE er al., 1998). In thcir ; tudy at La Coruiia, FERREIRO & RICO (1995) reportcd thnt tite pollinosis rate was 11 %. CHAPARRO (1987) observed that Parietaria was responsible for 5.5% üf thc poll inosis obsmcd in /\ndalucfa. In 9.46% of thc vnccinc prcpared for allergic pauents tn the Granada province thc cxtract of Paricwria judaica appeared (DÍAZ DE LA Gl:ARDll\. 1995). The Parierarin pollen produces skin positivcs in 6.5% or observed patients in Z.1ragoza (BELMONTEer al., in press).

As co11ld be cxpectcd, thcre is a correla­rion between h1gh annual sums ofUrticaccac polleo and the numbcr of days whcn pollen lc\'cls 3 and 4 are reached. /\t sitcs with low annual poll~n tutal>, level 4. and even levcl 3. are rarely rcachcd.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 presentan alternativc argument to discuss the prcvalence of Unic:lCC:lC 1•1lk n. Attention needs 10 be paid 10 the sea! es in thc gmph, which show that Urticaccae poi len is continuously prcscnt in the ntmosphcre of the si tes s1t1d1ed. Annual curve' prcscnt different forms between places, possibly duc tu the di verse species gathered undcr this taxon. If C\'Cr thc most convcnient env1ronmental cond it ions occurrcd, the pollen conccntrat ions (rcprcscmed hcrc by the potential curve) should be a lot highcr than the u;ual (mean curve) conccntrations. In the Mcditcrrancan localitics. the pollen values seem to be lcss variable than in the southern localities. where impurt:tnt diffc•cnccs betwcen ycars (Table 5), and bctwecn thc mean and thc maximum are observed.

The llrticacene .nnllen nuantllle< registe red dcpend not only on meteorolog,cal factors affccting growth :lnd nowcring, but

Polen

Acrobyo/ogy of Urticaceae itl Spain

,\nnulwr mu r,- ~blnl-.,¡ll'lll;tQ)IIII i'\umbrr •fd.i)" IJ'I''Ciu~f)'

Snr l'urs •hal~~.:•• Ma1lMUm Jota ...... , l'•ll.t•<411"1 1)«..'1..,_ r ... t'"e Uun11M l'lt. O ('ac. l C"n! Cat. l C111. " , ,, lb tr l','rn' IJACt n •• , •"o. da)' (n .C.J tO<ndt c~lnc20) ClOln<llil (n'.\0)

IW<I Tl!) 1)9 lliD' 6Jl! ... UIIO "' " 10 114 .. il

C:lriHia 1.,, l!.U "' """ 70S! n.o! ll<'l '" 21 111 ,, " "' "" lt17S )JO wo~ ''" ~4~ ·~··2 lll "' 111 ,. " "

"'' .... U l , .. , ~00! l!.GI jl/11 "' » ,,. IOl " " MUJ m;a "'' IOHO "' '"" 9-670 2VO! ¡ u-M m " " "' " "' "" ~!O~ ,. ""' 4111 JJ.IO~ 1110 ,., .. '"' !U " " 19'l6 "' " "''" u: o , ... Z::IO 219 .. ,,. ., . 1

Lltl~~ 1.,, 1110 " "'" 106l ,,., N'~ 211 lll 16) " ; o

"" 1<00 !! - J l-1~ '""' &::."='9 "' 11 0 140 .. 1

"" ll6l ,, - "" ,.., ll iiO 226 " l .. 102 " JO

IMimrn l !'ll !6" .. '"" 2.\bl IJ.<)J 1'>09 190 JI 17) 116 " S 1996 :916 " '""' :6:!7 "'" Z'fiO ! 11 " m ""

,, " "'' ~S.$.1 ,,

""'' J~Q i.Ol ""'' IW " "' 16 " " "'' l!'Jl " I!M '""' ''" ,,.,

"" " "' "" ! 2 11

1991 ,j~J! IOT !5·J~I H 4Q ,.., 1~11 '" " 125 1>< JI) " B:wnliwu "'' "" " '"" ~UJ ::l.'Ol 1~110 "' 21 110 1:0 ,, " 1 .. 6 1101 IOl 1""' ''" !1Q.\ ll! IO lll ll "' ... ... ,,

"'' ''" 111 707 .,. ..., 10">1 "' " '" " JI " 19'lt '"" IOi "" 36!! ..., ?'110 !-'0 ll 1,.. 1!-1 l.! )7

"" T!l) 1!) 2610.t ''" 1

11<13 1)111 "' " ,,

"' ,. ., l',.rr,¡~••u l>ll "" "' """ ""

,..., 16'10 lJS " '"' "' " ., 1.,1 "" ?! ll~S ~91 ~ ""' 10'10 DI " 1]0 1!:.& " " 19'JJ '" " ""'

,, ·~ 1 19~'9 '" '"

,,, .<S l 1 l tlt "' " WJCi "' "'"' 01 1 "' "' "' 6l o o

S;m:to~tD *' "'' "' " l ... '" ,.., "'1 "" 125 "' -"' o 1

C4....-rt b "" '" " ""'' '" "'"' 2)110 221 110 19) " o o 1 .. 1 mo " "'"' l!M7 2'.10.1 I U"="' "" " "' 11! " 11

"'' "" " '""' un i~l W;~5 l :!!i 217 " "' ll " 1.,, .... l91 ~MU '13 1• 1 '"' '""' :m " " 11 & l7 " \'1~· 1~)6 l Om ·~ """ 92'l ~~ ""' l !ll " 100 102 " " l t<l loo-5l ~(ll "'' "'" ''" !}1".:1$ 100 " 90 "' " 10) 19:S 1Hl .. """ 67JI) :~ ""' 10/ l! ,, IOl " " l'tj ' "' "

1

,.,. , 1

, .. '"'' " 21) " " o o L"'

19~'i '" " 1><>3 J!~ ""' - 9l "' "' )1 o • 19i6 "' lO 11>06 .... !LiOt "'' "' 2l6 " "' 1 • "" '" 17 lt.<l6 191 l i•OJ ,..,. "' "' " " o o

1991 "' !.1 """ "'' n<tk5 ,... .. "' 2!i~ .. " l • 19H 111) " 11"'' ''" "'

,., IYIO U> '"' 101 ,, ¡ • M:wlr14 "" ~5~ 16 101 "" !.92 WDl ""' 111 170 ,, • 19;6 '" ¡¡ ""''

,., ' I<IJ "" 119 lli "' " ' • 1"7 '" 1) ''" "' !1/00 ""' 166 201 1" " o • 19iB "' " ,., m """ .. , l lo '"' 111 19 o •

19i2 '"' " Ull o:. LW 1:112 '" "' "' u 1 • 19;) !115 li.t lfl2 l'ltJ !5.01 '"' "" 92 1<0 " " 7 C'lrr1~kt "'' I ~S! 100 ,..1 J.ll7 j2;()1 "' ~21 1<> 117 61 • ' l f>5 16l() "' ~u ll•l 1110: !0'11 "' 190 " 6l 11 • 1?~6 n H "' '""' ~.,¡j I.V! 1-1112 JI& 7l '' "' 3! ,.,

1"7 .... I!S l .!t{lj !il!¿ !i-m 1!Jil JH " 117 101 " ,.

19~8 ·IJ51 "' H..OI .;?11 IUI "'" 2:!0 .. IH 107 ll " "" 1 ¿~2 "' '""' ~ ~· .. , 1'1101 "' "' 16S " ' . J~f· "" 11121 !6 l .. l U6~ ~'01 WIO !bl " 176 " ll ' "" 15$9 ,, ls.o:l! w: 2l01 """ "' 101 1 .. " 1! .

"" "'" " 1711! m~ u .. m wu .,. " "' 1" " " "" 1~1 1 )) ''" 3~56 !iAll '"' ,. " l ll lll "

,. Gnu_dl

1901 "'' "' )10) ' n6 ZC;OI I.VII 292 " 1'1 lli " " Ir,.;. S "" " 1(,10! "'" ~w 11111 ""' " 1• 5 129 " " "" 162l 161 Mll ~•u 1.1)1 2111 1 )20 " "' "' " so 1 .. 7 'm "' !O'U ms 2'.;01 20tll ll9 " "' "'

,. JI 19•' ,.,.

"' l l>O! !im !IAll 2'1!)1 "' ,. 111 1 .. " ..

ltrl 912 17 11 .. , "' !lAII 2ltll "'' 9l 2lS " o o 1"' l l~J "

, .. 1121 . ., 1511! J~O " lOO ll 7 o ,\UI~~ "'' l ~l' ,, 2M)} US~ ; (¡¡1)1 l$11 1 )17 7J "' " ' .

"'j 1071 .. l .. ) '" !!<01 "' 1 "' 107 '"' .. ' ' .... !lO! " IMII "" !2JOI 14110 m ll 191 "' ' " "" IIC5 " 1711)! 100<1 .., ~11 ,.,. TI '" .. l o 1993 1151 " 1<) lllJ' ljJOI '""' 190 100 "' " ' o

C.ac1w11u "" I Oll "' nm "" ~:o: ,. IU 107 "' ., 1• " ""

.,, " 1W! '" ~.v: 70 1 m .,. 201 " ' 1

TABLE S. Parameters to evaluate t11e presence and irnpact of Urticaceae poflen in severa! Spanish localities

Vol. 10 ( 1999) 85

--- ~

....

Bclmolllc cr al.

PW-11

lOO r--------------------------------------------------, a~ci99G·199S I , . ..

IJ ll )J

Phoo'

!OO r-----------------------------------------------------, 110

100

,.

" 2~ \j " .....

~1 ?~ "~""""" 1

9' '7 ,. 1$ " "

,, Phn'

"' ... "' lO

ID

" " )j ., r ... •

100

, . Harcrlou.1 (199-1·199$)

•• •• ,.

ll " )l " 1'1~\'i\:- 1' • .&~u.,.\"•i.Ju,t..ryrnt ~~¡,. ...,.., . ttrv...annur.I,:Y rf\.Qmin.r..nl Jh" l l,t ir.AIV\nc- ,nnlltlol'\ ~~ " nf th o 1 11 ~F 6,

sites. For each statlon and week ol the year, the mean concentratlon an j the highasl concentration ol the perlod sludied ere plotted.

86 Polen

Acrobyolo.~) of Urticaccac 111 Spain

100 ¡---------- -"l)Jrr~()IJ3 ( 1996-19518)

.. ~~ ll 11 ,,

l'lm'

~r-----------------------------~---------. SandAto « Coni(Dottl a (199,\ -1 99H •

15 ., ....

\1go (l995-1998t l

T ' Ff V'-.,

15 " JI ,, P/ .. 1

lO r--------------------------------------------------, }O

10

•• 15 "

FIGURE 2. Graph1Cill synthesís ollhe annual dynamics el the Urtlcaceae rollen at 5 of the 15 REA sitas. For each slation and week of the year. lhe mean concenlral,on and lhe híghest concentration of the period sludled are ptolted.

\01. 10 ( /999) 87

Be/mame etal.

Ptm'

Plm1

Plo'

l l

.l

"

"

ll

= "

Cñnillu(l99l· I9~S}

Jl "

) 1

,,

"

~~'"""'" i

l l .,

sft~~~~~ :a~r~Pa~:~1 iX~~:~i~ ~~ 1hhi y~~~~u~edYnn:a~i~Ot?J~1.~L~d~~~~!~~au~J>~!~~~~~1 :vo~~!~~?~~~v~~=~ lhe period sludied are ploMad.

88 Polen

---

also on human activitics. This is because the plants ofthis fa mil y are nitrophilous and grow ne.1r human sites.

Figures 1, 2 and 3 al so pro vide an argument against the use of MPS-related data as parameters for the characterization of policn curves. lt shows that, while at most sites Urt icaceae palien is relcased imo the atmospherc from the end of autumn to summer, at sorne other sites the majority of the polien is releascd during winter and sumrncr. Therefore, it is not advisable to calculate the MPS in the same way al all o[ the sta tions, as wc havc done in this study. Another argument is deríved from Table 5, where it is clearly shown that MPS-related paramctcrs are total ly influenced by the amoum of poli en in the annual sea son. Thcy show important osciliations from yearto year, but do not contribute any relevan\ information not alrcady included in tho annual summary pararnctcrs. The adequacy of this conccpt for palien taxa continuously present in the air can also be questioncd. lt is the author's opinion that a more usefu l way to describe aerobiological dynamics of aliergenic palien types is by using taxon­spccific categories defined according to different sensitization le veis.

COf\CLUSIONS

Although thcrc is no part of Sp;lin completely free from Urticaceae palien, there are notable differenccs in conccntrations bctween regíons. Among the sites studied. León and Madrid had the lowest levcls. Pro­gressivcly highcr le veis of Unic:•ceae palien were found in Santiago de Compostela, Mála­ga, Lleida, Jaén, Estepona, Beliate1ra, Córdo­ba, Granada, Barcelona, Tarngona, Girona, Manresa and \ 'lgo.

Vol. JO ( 1999)

;\e10byology of Urlicaceae in Spain

Urticaceae pali en was continuously presem in the atmosphere of the localities studied and pollination periods di ffe rcd from place to place due to the di ffcrent spccics composing tl1e pollcn taxon. Thc main palien season do~s not sccm to be uscful in charactcrizing the aerobiological dynamics ofpolien typc.' from plants th:tt polli na te al! year round. The use of categories instcad of palien concentrations seems advisablc in order to s impli fy thc prcsentation of thc infurmation.

The importan! inter-annual variations of the Urticaceae palien levels can bccxplained not only by meteorological parameters but ;tl so by human act iv itics. Thcse include periodical elimmation or any other actions that c.1n modi fy thc cxtcnt of thcir habita!.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The dat:J from n arcelona, 13ellaterra, Girona, Lleida, Manresa. and Tarragonn are pnrt ofthc rescarch projt:ct "Acrobiologyical networkofCaw.lonia" (Xnrxa Aerobiologica de Catnlunya, XAC). betwcen tite Botanical Unit of the Universidad Autónoma de Bar­celona and Laboratorios CBF-LETI. S.A.

Thc authors are gratcful lO thc CICYT for funding project AMB-0457-C07.

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91