Influence of meteorological parameters on Olea pollen concentrations in Córdoba (south-western Spain)

The influence of meteorological parameters on the dispersion of airborne pollen has been studied by several authors. Olive pollen is the major cause of allergy in southern Spain, where a large part of the arable surface area is given over to olive cultivation. Daily pollen forecasts provide important information both for pollen-allergy sufferers and for agronomists trying to achieve a better biological understanding of variations in airborne olive pollen levels. The main purpose of this paper is to study, by means of short-term statistical analysis, the effect of meteorological parameters on airborne olive pollen concentrations in the city of Cordoba (south-western Spain). Twenty-one-year (1982-2002) aerobiological and meteorological databases were used. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to study the relationships between olive pollen levels and several meteorological parameters. Statistical analysis was applied both to the whole pollen season and to the pre-peak period. Daily meteorological parameters, such as accumulated mean temperature, accumulated sunlight hours, and accumulated rainfall were used as independent variables in both statistical analyses. Accumulated meteorological variables were of the greatest value in most regression analysis equations, heat-related variables being the most important.