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A ten year study of the incidence of spores of bracken, (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn.) in an urban rooftop airstream in south east Scotland

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Abstract

Field studies of bracken during sporing haveindicated very high numbers of sporesreleased per cubic metre of air. Thecarcinogenic nature of bracken spores poses ahealth hazard to workers and visitors in areasof sporing strands.

A retrospective study of bracken spores trappedon slides exposed during Augustand September over the ten year period, 1988–1997, on a rooftop site in Edinburgh,has added an urban dimension to the aerobiologyof bracken.

Results have revealed, apart from 1989,consistently low counts. The spore samplerwas situated downwind approximately 1.6 km fromthe nearest sporing stand.A spore calendar, based on the ten years ofcumulative data, has been constructed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scottish Centre for Pollen Studies, School of Life Sciences, UK

    E. Caulton, S. Keddie & R. Carmichael

  2. School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Napier University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

    J. Sales

Authors
  1. E. Caulton
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  2. S. Keddie
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  3. R. Carmichael
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  4. J. Sales
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Caulton, E., Keddie, S., Carmichael, R. et al. A ten year study of the incidence of spores of bracken, (Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn.) in an urban rooftop airstream in south east Scotland. Aerobiologia 16, 29–33 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007674431125

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007674431125

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