Addison-Smith Beth, Milic Andelija, Dwarakanath Divya, Simunovic Marko, Van Haeften Shanice, Timbrell Victoria, Davies Janet M
School of Biomedical Sciences, Centre for Immunology and Infection Control, Centre for the Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Office of Research, Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Front Allergy. 2021 Aug 5;2:705313. doi: 10.3389/falgy.2021.705313. eCollection 2021.
Grass pollen is the major outdoor trigger of allergic respiratory diseases. Climate change is influencing pollen seasonality in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions, but many aspects of the effects on grass pollen remain unclear. Carbon dioxide and temperature rises could increase the distribution of subtropical grasses, however, medium term shifts in grass pollen in subtropical climates have not yet been analysed. This study investigates changes in grass pollen aerobiology in a subtropical city of Brisbane, Australia, between the two available monitoring periods, 1994-1999 and 2016-2020. Potential drivers of pollen change were examined including weather and satellite-derived vegetation indicators. The magnitude of the seasonal pollen index for grass showed almost a three-fold increase for 2016-2020 over 1994-1999. The number and proportion of high and extreme grass pollen days in the recent period increased compared to earlier monitoring. Statistically significant changes were also identified for distributions of CO, satellite-derived seasonal vegetation health indices, and daily maximum temperatures, but not for minimum temperatures, daily rainfall, or seasonal fraction of green groundcover. Quarterly grass pollen levels were correlated with corresponding vegetation health indices, and with green groundcover fraction, suggesting that seasonal-scale plant health was higher in the latter period. The magnitude of grass pollen exposure in the subtropical region of Brisbane has increased markedly in the recent past, posing an increased environmental health threat. This study suggests the need for continuous pollen monitoring to track and respond to the possible effects of climate change on grass pollen loads.
草花粉是过敏性呼吸道疾病的主要户外触发因素。气候变化正在影响北半球温带地区的花粉季节，但对草花粉影响的许多方面仍不清楚。二氧化碳和气温上升可能会增加亚热带草类的分布，然而，亚热带气候下草花粉的中期变化尚未得到分析。本研究调查了澳大利亚亚热带城市布里斯班在两个可用监测期（1994 - 1999年和2016 - 2020年）之间草花粉气传生物学的变化。研究了花粉变化的潜在驱动因素，包括天气和卫星衍生的植被指标。2016 - 2020年草的季节性花粉指数幅度相比1994 - 1999年几乎增加了两倍。与早期监测相比，近期高草花粉日和极端草花粉日的数量及比例有所增加。还确定了一氧化碳分布、卫星衍生的季节性植被健康指数和每日最高气温存在统计学上的显著变化，但最低气温、每日降雨量或绿色地被植物的季节性比例没有变化。季度草花粉水平与相应的植被健康指数以及绿色地被植物比例相关，这表明后期季节性尺度上的植物健康状况更高。布里斯班亚热带地区近期草花粉暴露量显著增加，对环境卫生构成了更大威胁。本研究表明需要持续进行花粉监测，以跟踪和应对气候变化对草花粉负荷可能产生的影响。
