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Harvard Forest Symposium Abstract 2013
- Title: Impact of Climate change, habitat and weather parameters on airborne ragweed pollen concentrations in Massachusetts
- Primary Author: Kristina Stinson (University of Massachusetts - Amherst )
- Additional Authors: Gaurav Dhawan (University of Massachusetts ); Michael Muilenberg (University of Massachusetts ); Christine Rogers (University of Massachusetts at Amherst)
- Abstract:
The overall aim of this project is predicting how pollen production by the allergenic plant, common ragweed, may change in response to current and future climatic variation in the Northeast. To determine relationships between airborne pollen, ragweed population biology, and landscape /climate factors, we established a series of Burkard ® Traps in rooftop locations at three main locations in Massachusetts. The traps continually monitored airborne pollen on a 24 hour time series, and were strategically located in areas that span a gradient from urban/warm conditions to rural/cool conditions. The traps were located as follows: Urban/Warm - Boston University; Suburban/Intermediate - Concord Field Station; Rural/Cool - Harvard Forest. An additional trap at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst provided data from a more developed site within the same climate zone as the trap at Harvard Forest. To date, we have determined important differences between sites that are persistent from year to year, as well as important inter-annual variation in the duration and peak of the pollen season. For example, data from years 1-2 show that peak 24-hour pollen concentrations were higher at Amherst than Petersham, Boston, and Bedford in both 2010-2011 (Figure 5). For the year 2010 peak concentration dates ranged from 1 September (Boston) to 4 September (Bedford, Petersham and Amherst) as compared to 2011 when the peak concentration dates ranged from 22 August (Amherst) to 4 September (Bedford), with Petersham on 24 August and Boston on 31 August (Figure 1). This three-year dataset provides unique high resolution pollen count data for the region that will further our understanding of future ragweed hotspots.
- Research Category: Physiological Ecology, Population Dynamics, and Species Interactions
- Figures: Untitled.jpg
