Pollen is an important component of bioaerosol and the distribution of pollen and its relationship with meteorological parameters can be analyzed to better prevent hay fever. Pollen assemblages can also provide basic data for analyzing the relationship between bioaerosol and PM. We collected 82 samples of airborne pollen using a TSP large flow pollen collector from June 1, 2015 to June 1, 2016, from central Zhanjiang city in South China. We also conducted a survey of the nearby vegetation at the same time, in order to characterize the major plant types and their flowering times. We then used data on daily temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, vapor pressure and wind speed from a meteorological station in the center of Zhanjiang City to assess the relationship between the distribution of airborne pollen and meteorological parameters. Our main findings and conclusions are as follows: (1) We identified 15 major pollen types, including Pinus, Castanopsis, Myrica, Euphorbiaceae, Compositae, Gramineae, Microlepia and Polypodiaceae. From the vegetation survey, we found that the pollen from these taxa represented more than 75% of local pollen, while the pollen of Podocarpus, Dacrydium and other regional pollen types represented less than 25%. (2) The pollen concentrations varied significantly in different seasons. The pollen concentrations were at a maximum in spring, consisting mainly of tree pollen; the pollen concentrations were at an intermediate level in autumn and winter, consisting mainly of herb pollen and fern spores; and the pollen concentrations in summer were the lowest, consisting mainly of fern spores. (3) Analysis of the relationship between airborne pollen concentrations and meteorological parameters showed that variations in the pollen concentrations were mainly affected by temperature and relative humidity. In addition, there were substantial differences in these relationships in different seasons. In spring, pollen concentrations were mainly affected by temperature; in summer, they were mainly affected by the direction of the maximum wind speed; in autumn, they were mainly affected by relative humidity and temperature; and in winter, they were mainly affected by relative humidity and wind speed. Temperature and relative humidity promote plant growth and flowering. Notably, the variable
