Five years airborne pollen monitoring in Hungary (1989-1993)

Systematic aeropalynological investigations began in Hungary in 1989. In the present paper we summarize the results of the first five years of these investigations. In our work, we have been using a Burkard Seven-day Recording Volumetric Pollen and Spore h-ap. In the course of our research, we identified 45 flowering and gymnospermous taxa through their pollen. Our pollen calendar however contains only the most significant genera. The total pollen count of five years amounts to 83955 grains. The seasonal distribution of the total pollen count in the air is as follows: spring (February-May) 47343 grains: summer (June-August) 25774 grains: autumn (September-October) 10838 grains. Our pollen calendar is based on the seven days averages of the five years. It gives a picture which is very similar to that experienced by allergology, both showing that most of the heavily allergenic pollen occur in the atmosphere at the end of summer-autumn and that the second main pollen season coincides with the flowering of the grasses. By the introduction of aerobiology and the publication of our first results, we wanted to facilitate a more accurate diagnosis of pollinosis as well as to help prevention to become more successful.