How to select the optimal monitoring locations for an aerobiological network: A case of study in central northwest of Spain

Airborne pollen concentration varies depending on several factors, such as local plant biodiversity, geography and climatology. These particles are involved in triggering pollinosis in a share of worldwide human population, and adequate monitoring is, therefore, important. However, the pollen traps in aerobiological monitoring networks are usually installed in cities, and the features of the whole territory are not taken into account. The aim of this study was to analyze what environmental parameters are more suitable as regards setting up monitoring stations throughout a territory in order to obtain an aerobiological network that can represent environmental diversity. The analysis was carried out in 13 locations in Castilla y León over an 8 year period. This is a favorable territory in which to conduct this type of study owing to its climatic features, orography and biodiversity. The ten most abundant pollen types in the region were analyzed, and a clustering analysis was calculated with different distances so as to obtain homogeneous groups of stations. Moreover, the clusters obtained were analyzed in combination with altitudinal and different bioclimatic parameters, which derived from temperature and precipitation. The result here shows that the Castilla y León aerobiological network RACYL represents most of the environmental variability of the territory. Furthermore, it can be divided into two clusters and five sub-clusters for which the start of the main pollen season is different. This corresponds with the division of the territory as regards bioclimatic conditions. The most important bioclimatic parameters were the seasonality of the precipitation and the maximum temperature of the warmest month, although orography must also be taken into account. All of these help discover the optimal places in which to install traps and could reduce the number of monitoring stations. This study additionally provides data for unmonitored areas with similar bioclimatic conditions to those monitored.