Impact of elevated air temperature and drought on pollen characteristics of major agricultural grass species

Existing Challenges and Opportunities for Advancing Drought and Health Research

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Drought is one of the most far-reaching natural disasters, yet drought and health research is sparse. This may be attributed to the challenge of quantifying drought exposure, something complicated by multiple drought indices without any designed for health research. The purpose of this general review is to evaluate current drought and health literature and highlight challenges or scientific considerations when performing drought exposure and health assessments.

RECENT FINDINGS

The literature revealed a small, but growing, number of drought and health studies primarily emphasizing Australian, western European, and US populations. The selection of drought indices and definitions of drought are inconsistent. Rural and agricultural populations have been identified as vulnerable cohorts, particularly for mental health outcomes. Using relevant examples, we discuss the importance of characterizing drought and explore why health outcomes, populations of interest, and compound environmental hazards are crucial considerations for drought and health assessments. As climate and health research is prioritized, we propose guidance for investigators performing drought-focused analyses.

Effect of composite amendments on physicochemical properties of copper tailings repaired by herbaceous plants

Phytoremediation is considered to be the most environmentally friendly green restoration technology for dealing with mine waste. Adding amendments can improve the substrate environment for plant growth and enhance remediation efficiency. Herbaceous plants have become the preferred species for vegetation restoration in abandoned mines because of their fast greening and simple management. After 8 weeks of pot experiments in the early stage, it was shown that the plant height and fresh weight of the plants treated with 5% conditioner and 0.5% straw (C₂S₂) were significantly higher than those of other treatments. Considering that, in this paper, to explore the effect of composite amendments on physicochemical properties of copper tailings repaired by herbaceous plants, the untreated copper tailings were employed as the control group, whereas copper tailings repaired by ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides L.), and tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) with or without conditioners and straw combination into the compound amendments were taken separately as the test group. After 6 months of planting, the pH, electrical conductivity, water content, available potassium, organic matter, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus in the main physical and chemical properties of copper tailings in each experimental area were analyzed. The results showed that the electrical conductivity, organic matter, and total nitrogen content of copper tailings were improved to a certain extent by planting plants without treatment. Meanwhile, compared with the control group, all indexes of planting plants showed an upward trend after adding composite amendments. Among them, pH, water content, and available potassium content of copper tailings were enhanced more obviously. Furthermore, as discovered from the gray correlation analysis results, vetiver grass planted with composite amendments has the best comprehensive effect of improving the physicochemical properties of copper tailings, followed by tall fescue and ryegrass.

A comprehensive aerobiological study of the airborne pollen in the Irish environment

Respiratory allergies triggered by pollen allergens represent a significant health concern to the Irish public. Up to now, Ireland has largely refrained from participating in long-term aerobiological studies. Recently, pollen monitoring has commenced in several sampling locations around Ireland. The first results of the pollen monitoring campaigns for Dublin (urban) and Carlow (rural) concerning the period 2017-2019 and 2018-2019, respectively, are presented herein. Additional unpublished pollen data from 1978-1980 and, 2010-2011 were also incorporated in creating the first pollen calendar for Dublin. During the monitoring period over 60 pollen types were identified with an average Annual Pollen Integral (APIn) of 32,217 Pollen × day/m³ for Dublin and 78,411 Pollen × day/m³ for Carlow. The most prevalent pollen types in Dublin were: Poaceae (32%), Urticaceae (29%), Cupressaceae/Taxaceae (11%), Betula (10%), Quercus (4%), Pinus (3%), Fraxinus (2%), Alnus (2%) and Platanus (1%). The predominant pollen types in Carlow were identified as Poaceae (70%), Urticaceae (12%), Betula (10%), Quercus (2%), Fraxinus (1%) and Pinus (1%). These prevalent pollen types increased in annual pollen concentration in both locations from 2018 to 2019 except for Fraxinus. Although higher pollen concentrations were observed for the Carlow (rural) site a greater variety of pollen types were identified for the Dublin (urban) site. The general annual trend in the pollen season began with the release of tree pollen in early spring, followed by the release of grass and herbaceous pollen which dominated the summer months with the annual pollen season coming to an end in October. This behaviour was illustrated for 21 different pollen types in the Dublin pollen calendar. The correlation between ambient pollen concentration and meteorological parameters was also examined and differed greatly depending on the location and study year. A striking feature was a substantial fraction of the recorded pollen sampled in Dublin did not correlate with the prevailing wind directions. However, using non-parametric wind regression, specific source regions could be determined such as Alnus originating from the Southeast, Betula originating from the East and Poaceae originating from the Southwest.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10453-022-09751-w.

Correction: Impact of elevated air temperature and drought on pollen characteristics of major agricultural grass species

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0248759.].