The datafile contains the composition and abundance of airborne pollen collected at the University of Melbourne campus at Parkville, Melbourne, Australia for the MAPCAH study. The data were collected between September 2009 and December 2011 as part of a research program looking at the relationship between airborne pollen and asthma exacerbations in children and adolescents (Erbas et al., 2012). These data have been included as part of a study of the Australian Aerobiology working group (Haberle, Bowman, Newnham, Johnston, Beggs, Buters, Campbell, Erbas, Godwin, Green, Heute, Jaggard, Medek, Murray, Newbigin, Thibaudon, Vicendese, Williamson, Davies “The macroecology of airborne pollen in Australian and New Zealand urban areas”).
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We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
This work was funded by ACEAS, a facility of Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), an Australian Government National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) project.
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The September 2009-December 2011 pollen counts were performed using a Burkard 7-day recording volumetric trap (Burkard Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, UK). Airborne pollen grains were trapped on an adhesive (Dow Corning Sylgard 527 silicone dielectric gel) coated tape or a glass microscope slide by intake of air at a flow of 10 l min-1. A microscope slide was used between October and December and transparent plastic MelinexTM tape was used at other times. The glass slide was changed daily and tape changed on a weekly basis and cut into seven pieces, each representing a 24 hr period. The pieces of tape were then individually mounted on glass microscope slides. Pollen grains were stained with Calberla's stain and counted using a light microscope by randomly scanning the length of the tape (lengthwise traverse). The different types of pollen on the slide were identified using in-house materials and the daily concentration of each pollen type expressed as the average number of pollen grains m-3 of air for the preceding 24 hr period.
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