Flowering Phenology of Selected Linden (TiliaL.) Taxa in Relation to Pollen Seasons

Abstract

A b s t r a c t All lindens provide Apidae insects with nectar, pollen, and honeydew. Lindens are important melliferous trees in Poland. The first purpose of the study was to carry out phenological observations of the flowering in ten linden taxa. The second aim was to analyse the content of linden pollen grains in the air of Lublin. A correlation between the parameters of the pollen season and meteorological factors was also determined. This study was conducted in the city of Lublin located in the central-eastern part of Poland. The flowering phenophases were analysed, using the method developed by Łukasiewicz, during the growing seasons of 2012-2015. Aerobiological monitoring, which was based on the volumetric method, was carried out over the 2001-2014 time period. As shown in the study, the flowering period of all the analysed linden taxa lasted 7 weeks, on average, from June 7 to July 24. The average length of the flowering period of the investigated taxa and hybrids was in the range of 12-17 days. Their flowering periods overlapped. The atmospheric pollen season lasted, on average, from mid-June to the second 10-day period of July. The highest concentration of airborne pollen was noted at the end of June. The pollen season pattern was significantly affected by temperature and relative air humidity as well as by rainfall in May and June. The investigations indicate a 9-day acceleration of the pollen season, which may be associated with global warming.

Pollen Count Dynamics in Rapeseed Stamens in Early Spring

“…The five studied oilseed rape cultivars showed similar trends, with higher pollen counts in the full bloom stage than in the initial and late flowering stages. It has been proved that the highest pollen number of linden trees is the full flowering stage, which was consistent with the results in this paper (Weryszko-Chmielewska et al, 2010). The high pollen count in the full bloom stage implied that there may be higher reproductive pressure in this stage.…”

“…Furthermore, the pollen count of a single flower in cabbage cultivars has been found to range from 20,000 to 858,000 grains (Sun et al, 2020). It has also been demonstrated that the pollen counts of linden trees vary dynamically among different flower stages, with the highest pollen count occurring at the anthesis stage (Weryszko-Chmielewska et al, 2010). In addition, the number of pollen Brassicaceae grains also changed (Masierowska, 2012).…”

Aerobiology in Poland: Achievements and challenges

“…For instance, in Lublin, it has been shown that among four species of Acer (maple tree), A. negundo and A. platanoides are responsible for the majority of Acer pollen in the air (Weryszko-Chmielewska et al, 2016). In contrast, among 10 lime tree species, Tilia cordata was the most important pollen contributor (Dąbrowska et al, 2016). e pollen production and flowering phenology of three Artemisia species have been compared to airborne pollen season in Poznań (Bogawski et al, 2016).…”