From citizen science to pollen phenology II

Volunteer-contributed observations of flowering often correlate with airborne pollen concentrations

Allergen phenology
International Journal of Biometeorology 2023
Authors

Theresa M. Crimmins

Elizabeth Vogt

Claudia L. Brown

Dan Dalan

Arie Manangan

Guy Robinson

Yiluan Song

Kai Zhu

Daniel S.W. Katz

Published

June 17, 2023

Keywords

global change biology, environmental data science, allergy, public health, citizen science

Paper

Highlights

  • The USA-NPN’s flower and pollen cone observations could address gaps in pollen monitoring.
  • Significant correlations were found between volunteer-contributed observations and airborne pollen concentrations for 15 common tree taxa.
  • A formal observation campaign could further enhance the quantity and utility of these data.

Flower and pollen status records contributed to Nature’s Notebook in continental US and National Allergy Bureau (NAB) certified pollen monitoring stations.

Three examples of comparing flowering status observations and airborne pollen concentrations.

Correlations between flowering and pollen cone observations collected within 200 km of a pollen counting station and airborne pollen concentrations.