Relationships of fungal spore concentrations in the air and meteorological factors |
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Affiliation: | 1. College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, People''s Republic of China;2. State Key of Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, People''s Republic of China |
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Abstract: | High concentrations of airborne fungal spores are associated with human health concerns. Environmental variables, such as temperature and moisture, can influence growth and reproduction in fungi and airborne spore concentrations can fluctuate seasonally. However, we do not understand how long-term changes in climate affect fungal abundance in the air. Here, we sampled annually (at peak season, in September, over a 20-yr period) for airborne fungal spores in two North American cities (New York and Toronto), and related fungal abundance to local variation in climate. We found that at both locations, the total precipitation during the 2- month period prior to sampling (Jul.–Aug.) was negatively related to observed fungal spore concentrations. Considering that climate predictions for these two regions indicate an increase in drought events in summer, we expect airborne fungal concentrations to increase in future years, potentially exacerbating human health concerns. |
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Keywords: | Air Climate change Fungi Prediction Spore concentration |
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