AEROBIOLOGY
POLLnet is the Italian aerobiological monitoring network of the National System for Environmental Protection (SNPA)" formed by the Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and the regional agencies and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano for the protection of the environment (ARPA; APPA). deals with the monitoring and study of the biological component of airborne particulate matter present in the atmosphere with particular attention to pollen and fungal spores.
The data collected are suitable in the environmental field for integrating the monitoring of air quality, for estimating the biodiversity of plant species, for the study of climate change and in the health field for producing extremely useful information in diagnostics, therapy, research and in the prevention of allergic respiratory diseases. Further uses are also foreseen in the agronomic field and in the protection of artistic heritage (e.g. in libraries, archives, museums).
The analyzes provide average daily concentrations expressed in pollen or fungal spores per cubic meter of air.
The “Allergenic and annual pollen integral” indicator considers two integrals: the Annual Pollen Integral (IPAn) and the Allergenic Pollen Integral (IPA) which describe the quantity of pollen present in a year in the atmosphere of the locations in which they are positioned monitoring stations. The Annual Pollen Whole (IPA) is obtained from the sum of the daily pollen concentrations of a specific family measured in the year considered, while the Allergenic Pollen Whole (IPA) is obtained from the sum of the pollen concentrations of the main and most widespread allergenic families present on the national territory. The Annual Whole Pollen and the Allergenic Whole Pollen are locally subject to very significant variations from one year to the next caused by the different trends of seasonal weather and climate characteristics. These are cumulative quantitative indicators which therefore do not give indications on the distribution methods of airborne pollen during the year. The “Pollen season” indicator describes the times of pollination of a specific botanical family during the year. The start and end dates and duration of a family's pollen season change based on location, because pollination is extremely sensitive to weather and climate differences