THE ALLERGENIC POLLEN IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF EL-HADJAR CITY (ANNABA, ALGERIA)

Abstract

The aeropalynogical study of the atmosphere of El-Hadjar town was carried out during one year, from June 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013. The collected pollen during the sampling period yielded 2729 pollen grains/cm2 belonging to 50 taxa, distributed on 20 families (Apiaceae, Arecaceae, Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Cupressaceae, Cyperaceae, Ericaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Mimosaceae, Pinaceae, Poaceae, Rosaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Ulmaceae, Urticaceae and Vitaceae.); 24 genera (Alnus, Artemisia, Betula, Borago, Carya, Casuarina, Echium, Ephedra, Eucalyptus, Fraxinus, Juglans, Juncus, Ligustrum, Mercurialis, Melia, Pistacia, Plantago, Platanus, Populus, Quercus, Rumex, Salix, Tilia and Trifolium.) and, 6 species (Castanea sativa, Corylus avellana, Olea europaea, Quercus ilex, Ricinus communis and Typha angustifolia). The pollen peak concentration was recorded in April with 715 GP/cm2 and the minimum value in October with 36.08 GP/cm2. The pollen spectrum has a percentage of 52.31% of pollen tree. The Cupressaceae family contributed with 12.84%, Olea europaea with 6.95%, Eucalyptus and Casuarina with 5.85 and 5.71%. The highest percentage of this type of pollen occurs in November with 90.51%, dominated by Casuarina pollen with 86.31%. The highest concentrations of tree taxa are: Eucalyptus (35.03%) and Ligustrum (16.21%) in June. Fraxinus with 64.64% in December, Ericaceae 17.42% in March; Olea europaea and Quercus in April with 18.86% and 6.79% respectively. The pollens of the herbs present 44.89%. They are characterized by the major presence of Poaceae and Mercurialis pollen with the following percentages: 21.49% and 11.75%. It seems that the months of July (86.33%) and August (80.14%) mark the highest percentages of non-tree pollen

Keywords

• Aeropalynology,allergenic pollens,atmospheric pollens,El-Hadjar region (Algeria)

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