AEROBIOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ARBOREAL POLLEN IN SAN MIGUEL DE TUCUMÁN (ARGENTINA): 9-YEARS STUDY

GARCIA; REYES, N.J; ESPECHE, M; ROMAGNOLI M.G; NITIU, D.S

Simposio; Mediterranean Palynology Simposium; 2015

The diversity and the dynamics of the pollen present in the atmosphere of San Miguelde Tucumán city, Argentina (26 ° 50´S, 65 ° 15´W) is continuously monitored since 2006with a Hirst-type volumetric spore trap sampler by the Estación de monitoreo del NOA(Argentine Northwest). The aim of this work was to analyze the diversity andfluctuation of the concentration of the arboreal pollen (AP) over 9 years (Figure 1), andto highlight the most abundant pollen types. The reading of the samples was performedin 6 transverse transects along the day. The highest annual contribution of AP was in2012 and the lowest was recorded in 2008. The pollen diagrams show particular curvesalong the years in which the meteorological factors and the urban atmosphere can play avery important role at the moment of emission, dispersion and permanence in the cloud.83 pollen types were identified, 61 corresponding to AP species, being Broussonetia,Morus, Platanus and Fraxinus (exotic) and Alnus, Celtis and Juglans (native) the mostabundant species. The highest annual contribution of pollen is recorded from late winterto spring and corresponds to arboreal types, whose dominance starts from August, witha notable increase in September and decrease by October. The marked seasonality ofthis group matches with the emission rhythm and contribution concentration ofBroussonetia and in a second place from Morus (Figure 2). The pollen spectrum of SanMiguel de Tucumán has specific characteristics given that indirectly reflects thecomposition of urban vegetation The pollen types with the highest representation in thesampling came from a low anemophilous vegetation mainly exotic arboreal with highpollen production. The presence of pollen from native flora comes from the easternslopes of the Sierra de San Javier.