KLIMApollen
KLIMApollen – Impact of climate change on pollen in Bavaria
Within the project the expected changes on pollen due to climate change in Bavaria are investigated. Climate change is already now measurable in Bavaria and will get even stronger in the future. Most likely there will be changes regarding the composition and growth of plants. Persons allergic to pollen are directly affected as the composition of species might change into more allergenic species. Shifts for the flowering affect the duration whereas other climatic parameters such as elevated CO2-concentrations and mild winters influence the amount of pollen produced. Further factors such as drought, ozone, UV-radiation and anthropogenic air pollutants cause plant stress which in turn might influence the allergenicity of pollen.
Subproject 2
Module 11: Pollen transport climatology
Module 12: Modelling the impact of land use change on grass pollen
Due to changes in grassland management and land use in general, also including adaptation activities based on climate change, significant changes for grass pollen emission (date and amount) are expected. The changes in land use and their impact on the grass pollen calendar are investigated for several sites in Bavaria.
Module 13: Climate chamber experiments on branches
Before reaching the stage of flowering branches from hazelnut, alder and birch are cut and inflorescences are covered with paper bags. Branches are kept under controlled conditions inside climate chambers until flowering is completed. Afterwards pollen is analyzed in the laboratory. Within this module the possibility of using the method mentioned above for pollen research is evaluated. Other research questions deal with the importance of dormancy for pollen development and the pollen development under different climate conditions.
Contact persons:
Homa Ghasemifard
Prof. Dr. Annette Menzel
Duration:
2018 – 2020