Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 3, 2025
07:19
Field Experiments of Pollination Ecology: The Case of Lycoris sanguinea var. sanguinea
Published on: November 25, 2016
11.5K
Microscale pollen release and dispersal patterns in flowering grass populations.
Carl A Frisk1, Godfrey P Apangu1, Geoffrey M Petch1
1School of Science and the Environment, University of Worcester, Henwick Grove, WR2 6AJ Worcester, UK.
The Science of the Total Environment
|April 7, 2023
Summary
Grass pollen concentrations and species composition vary significantly over short distances, influenced by local topography and meteorology. Most emitted grass pollen has a limited dispersion range, highlighting microscale variations in airborne pollen.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Aerobiology
- Molecular Ecology
Background:
- Understanding grass pollen release and dispersion is crucial for ecological, agricultural, and public health applications.
- Grass pollen's high allergenicity and varied source areas necessitate detailed study of its airborne dynamics.
- Fine-level heterogeneity in grass pollen dispersion requires advanced molecular methods for accurate characterization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate microscale variations in grass pollen release and dispersion.
- To characterize the taxonomic composition of airborne grass pollen using environmental DNA (eDNA) and metabarcoding.
- To identify meteorological and topographical factors influencing grass pollen dispersal.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of high-resolution grass pollen concentrations at three microscale sites (<300m apart).
- Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) modeling pollen concentrations with local meteorology.
- Illumina sequencing for pollen metabarcoding, analyzed with DADA2 and phyloseq for diversity indices.
- Observation of local Festuca rubra flowering phenology.
Main Results:
- Significant microscale variation in grass pollen concentrations, linked to local topography and source proximity.
- Six dominant grass genera (Agrostis, Alopecurus, Arrhenatherum, Holcus, Lolium, Poa) comprised 77% of reads.
- Meteorological factors (temperature, solar radiation, humidity, wind, turbulence) were relevant to pollen release/dispersion.
- An isolated Festuca rubra population showed high local impact (40%) but minimal distant impact (1% at 300m).
Conclusions:
- Grass pollen dispersion is largely limited to short distances, with significant microscale spatial variation.
- Airborne grass species composition exhibits substantial heterogeneity over short geographical scales.
- Local factors strongly influence grass pollen concentration and taxonomic profiles, impacting public health and ecological models.
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