Monitoring and assessment of airborne Cladosporium Link and Alternaria Nées spores in Sivrihisar (Eskisehir), Turkey

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 148; no. 1-4; pp. 477 - 484
• Main Authors: Erkara, Ismuhan Potoglu, Ilhan, Semra, Oner, Setenay
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 2009; Springer Netherlands; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aeromycology; Air Microbiology; Airborne particulates; Allergens - analysis; Allergies; Alternaria; Alternaria - immunology; Altitude; Applied sciences; Asthma; Atmospheric pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaerosol; Chi-square test; Cladosporium; Cladosporium - immunology; conidia; Correlation analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Exact sciences and technology; fungal spores; Fungi; Global positioning systems; GPS; Humans; Humidity; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Pollutants physicochemistry study: properties, effects, reactions, transport and distribution; Pollution; Rain; Relative humidity; Spore concentration; Spores, Fungal - immunology; Studies; Turkey; Vegetation; Weather; Asia; Turkey; Aeromycology; Bioaerosol; Spore concentration; Fungal spores; Conidia; Natural origin pollution; Fungal spores . Spore concentration; Atmospheric condition; Statistical distribution; Alternaria; Environmental factor; Air quality; Spores; Fungi; Biogenic factor; Seasonal variation; Cladosporium; Aerosols; Air pollution; Fungi Imperfecti; Concentration distribution
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-008-0177-x

The spores of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp., commonly described as the most allergenic spores, were collected by means of Durham gravimetric sampler from the Sivrihisar (Eskisehir) atmosphere throughout 2005 to 2006. The weekly variations in spores/cm² of Cladosporium and Alternaria were recorded. During this period, a total of 6,198 spores belonging to Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. were recorded. Of these spores, 2,969 were identified in 2005 and 3,229 in 2006. While 69.55% of the total spores were those of Cladosporium spp., 30.45% were Alternaria spp. Relationships between airborne fungal spore presence and weather conditions were examined statistically. A Shapiro-Wilk test revealed that the airborne spores of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. had a normal distribution. Following this, Chi-square test, t test and Pearson correlation analysis were performed. The effects of temperature and relative humidity on the spore numbers of Cladosporium spp. and Alternaria spp. were significant according to the month in which they were collected (p < 0.01). The spore concentrations of each species reached to their highest levels in June 2006.