Changes in the Pollen Seasons of the Early Flowering Trees Alnus spp. and Corylus spp. in Worcester United Kingdom 1996-2005

Previous work on Betula spp. (birch) in the UK and at five sites in Europe has shown that pollen seasons for this taxon have tended to become earlier by about 5–10 days per decade in most regions investigated over the last 30 years. This pattern has been linked to the trend to warmer winters and springs in recent years. However, little work has been done to investigate the changes in the pollen seasons for the early flowering trees. Several of these, such as Alnus spp. and Corylus spp., have allergens, which cross-react with those of Betula spp., and so have a priming effect on allergic people. This paper investigates pollen seasons for Alnus spp. and Corylus spp. for the years 1996–2005 at Worcester, in the West Midlands, United Kingdom. Pollen data for daily average counts were collected using a Burkard volumetric trap sited on the exposed roof of a three-storey building. The climate is western maritime. Meteorological data for daily temperatures (maximum and minimum) and rainfall were obtained from the local monitoring sites. The local area up to approximately 10 km surrounding the site is mostly level terrain with some undulating hills and valleys. The local vegetation is mixed farmland and deciduous woodland. The pollen seasons for the two taxa investigated are typically late December or early January to late March. Various ways of defining the start and end of the pollen seasons were considered for these taxa, but the most useful was the 1% method whereby the season is deemed to have started when 1% of the total catch is achieved and to have ended when 99% is reached. The cumulative catches (in grains/m3) for Alnus spp. varied from 698 (2001) to 3,467 (2004). For Corylus spp., they varied from 65 (2001) to 4,933 (2004). The start dates for Alnus spp. showed 39 days difference in the 10 years (earliest 2000 day 21, latest 1996 day 60). The end dates differed by 26 days and the length of season differed by 15 days. The last 4 years in the set had notably higher cumulative counts than the first 2, but there was no trend towards earlier starts. For Corylus spp. start days also differed by 39 days (earliest 1999 day 5, latest 1996 day 44). The end date differed by 35 days and length of season by 26 days. Cumulative counts and lengths of season showed a distinct pattern of alternative high (long) and low (short) years. There is some evidence of a synchronous pattern for Alnus spp.. These patterns show some significant correlations with temperature and rainfall through the autumn, winter and early spring, and some relationships with growth degree 4s and chill units, but the series is too short to discern trends. The analysis has provided insight to the variation in the seasons for these early flowering trees and will form a basis for future work on building predictive models for these taxa.

The Pannonian Plain as a Source of Ambrosia Pollen in the Balkans

This study aims to find likely sources of Ambrosia pollen recorded during 2007 at five pollen-monitoring sites in central Europe, Novi Sad, Ruma, Negotin and Nis (Serbia) and Skopje (Macedonia). Ambrosia plants start flowering early in the morning and so Ambrosia pollen grains recorded during the day are likely to be from a local source. Conversely, Ambrosia pollen grains recorded at night or very early in the morning may have arrived via long-range transport. Ambrosia pollen counts were analysed in an attempt to find possible sources of the pollen and to identify Ambrosia pollen episodes suitable for further investigation using back-trajectory analysis. Diurnal variations and the magnitude of Ambrosia pollen counts during the 2007 Ambrosia pollen season showed that Novi Sad and Ruma (Pannonian Plain) and to a lesser degree Negotin (Balkans) were located near to sources of Ambrosia pollen. Mean bi-hourly Ambrosia pollen concentrations peaked during the middle of the day and concentrations at these sites were notably higher than at Nis and Skopje. Three episodes were selected for further analysis using back-trajectory analysis. Back-trajectories showed that air masses brought Ambrosia pollen from the north to Nis and, on one occasion, to Skopje (Balkans) during the night and early morning after passing to the east of Novi Sad and Ruma during the previous day. The results of this study identified the Southern part of the Pannonian Plain around Novi Sad and Ruma as being a potential source region for Ambrosia pollen recorded at Nis and Skopje in the Balkans.

Factors Involved in the Phenological Mechanism of Alnus Flowering in Central Europe

The objectives of this paper are to ascertain the main factors involved in the phenological mechanism of alder flowering in Central Europe by understanding the in - fluence of the main meteorological parameters, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) effect and the study of the Chill and Heat requirements to overcome dormancy. Airborne pollen (1995–2007) was collected in Poznań (Poland) by means a volumetric spore trap. Temperatures for February, and January and February averages of the NAO are generally key factors affecting the timing of the alder pollen seasons. Chilling accumulation (which started in Poznań at the beginning of November, while the end took place during the month of January) of 985 CH with a threshold temperature of -0.25ºC, followed by 118 GDDºC with a threshold temperature of 0.5ºC, were necessary to overcome dormancy and produce the onset of flowering. The calculated dormancy requirements, mean tem - peratures of the four decades of the year, and January and February average NAO index recorded during the period before flowering, were used to construct linear and multiple regression models in order to forecast the start date of the alder pollen seasons Its ac - curacy was tested using data from 2007, and the difference between the predicted and observed dates ranged from 3–7 days

Animism in Rainforest and Tundra: Personhood, Animals, Plants and Things in Contemporary Amazonia and Siberia (Book Review)

Animism is a form of traditional spiritual belief that receives welcome treatment here. The observations of Victorian ethnologist travellers on the local peoples they regarded as primitive was analysed by Sir Edward (E. B.) Tylor, in Primitive Culture (1871) which established the working definition of animism followed by later generations of scholars. This came from the observation that non-scientific people did not always draw sharp distinctions between human persons and other entities such as animals, trees and even rocks but imbued these with soul. The latin anima, ‘soul, spirit’ provided the title of what was assumed to be a primitive religion, animism. The study being reviewed recognizes apparent connections within deep history between Siberia and the Amazon, and uses contemporary social anthropology to clarify assumptions about animism. This book on animism in two shamanic cultures explores personhood and the relations in pre-scientific human thought between humans and non-humans, in contexts where non-humans can be regarded as social persons (p.2).