Airborne pollen flora of Jabalur - the central India

The fortnightly aerobiological survey of pollen grains at five different sites at two different heights (ground level and at 10 m) was carried out at Jabalpur city during January to December, 1996. Air sampling was done for 30 minutes at each sampling point by using a Rotorod air sampler. A total of 84 pollen types belonging to 34 families of Angiospermae and one family of Gymnospermae were identified. The maximum mean concentration (1.04/m super(3) air) of pollen was contributed by Asteraceae followed by Amaranthaceae/Chenopodiaceae (0.77/m super(3) air) and the minimum (0.001/m super(3) air) by Cucurbitaceae, Convolvulaceae and Sapotaceae. Maximum numbers of pollen grains were contributed by herb species (62.07%) followed by shrubs (18.47%) and trees (14.96%). A small fraction, i.e., 4.50% of total pollen flora remained unidentified. Morphological analysis revealed maximum concentration (1.81/m super(3)) of triporate pollen grains. There was a significant difference in the pollen concentration at ground level and at 10 m height. The ratio observed was 1.7 : 1.0. There was non-significant negative correlation (r = -0.196) between mean pollen concentration and mean atmospheric temperature. May, the hottest month, showed minimum mean pollen concentration (1.65/m super(3) air), whereas October, with moderate temperature, the maximum (10.86/m super(3) air).