"One year's survey of airspora in Siena (central Italy)"

An investigation of fungal airspora in Siena was carried out for one year using a Burkard trap. The spores were counted daily and expressed in number per m3 of air. The main spore period is the May-October semester which includes 85% of the annual spora caught. Cladosporium was by far the most common genus, representing 68% of the total spora amount. Ascospores were next in frequency but represented only 8,2% of the total. Basidiospores showed values and distribution similar to Ascospores. Another important allergenic spora collected was Alternaria which reached its maximum value in July. The quantity of airborne spores was very low when compared with values previously found in other European cities.