Volumetric analysis of airborne pollen grains in the city of Usak, Turkey

Airborne pollen in Usak, a province in Turkey, was studied for two years (from 1 February 2014 to 31 January 2016) using the volumetric method and the most recent pollen data of the region were obtained. During the study, 23,915 pollen grains were detected. The pollens detected belonged to 53 taxa. Of the 53 taxa, 28 were woody and 25 were herbaceous. Of the pollen grains detected, 86% (20,565 pollen grains) were from woody plants, 4.74% (1133 pollen grains) belonged to Poaceae, and 8.65% (2071 pollen grains) were from other herbaceous plants, whereas 0.61% (146 pollen grains) were unidentified pollen grains. Of the woody taxa, those whose pollen grains comprised more than 1% each of the total number of pollen grains during the study were Quercus (32.60%), Pinaceae (31.96%), Cupressaceae/Taxaceae (10.22%), Fraxinus (5.47%), and Platanus (1.12%), whereas of the herbaceous taxa, those whose pollen grains comprised more than 1% each of the total number of pollen grains were Poaceae (4.74%), Amaranthaceae (1.82%), Plantago (1.59%), and Rumex (1.18%). In the two-year period, the highest airborne pollen concentrations were recorded in May (47.30%), followed by April (27.64%) and June (10.47%). The results obtained in the study indicated that the dominant airborne pollen types detected in Usak generally had allergenic effects at moderate or high levels and that these taxa reached the highest amount in May.