Defining Pollen Seasons: Background and Recommendations
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Collection and Identification of Pollen from Honey Bee Colonies
Published on: January 19, 2021
Katharina Bastl1, Maximilian Kmenta2, Uwe E Berger2
1Research group Aerobiology and pollen information, Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, A-1090, Wien, Austria. katharina.bastl@meduniwien.ac.at.
Purpose Of Review:
The definition of a pollen season determines the start and the end of the time period with a certain amount of pollen in the ambient air. Different pollen season definitions were used for a long time including the use of different terms for data and methods used to define a pollen season. Recently suggested pollen season definitions for clinical trials were tested and applied for the first time to more aeroallergens.
Recent Findings:
This is a review on pollen season definitions and the latest recommendations. Recently, proposed terminology in aerobiology is promoted here in order to support reproducibility and repeatability in research. Two pollen season definitions, one based on percentages and one based on pollen concentrations, were tested. Percentage definitions can be recommended for standard aerobiological routines and for retrospective applications, whereas pollen concentrations definitions can be recommended for prospective applications such as clinical trials.
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