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The Summer Air-Spora at Rothamsted in 1952
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1957
Year
Fungal DiversitySpore BiologyEngineeringTrap 24AerobiologyMicrometeorologyMicrobial EcologyOctober 1952Fungal BiologySummer Air-sporaBiometeorologyRothamsted Experimental Station
The study sampled air over a Rothamsted arable field from 1 June to 25 October 1952 using an automatic volumetric spore trap at 2 m, counted spores on slides representing 41 L, classified them into 20 morphological groups, and related 6‑day running means of spore concentrations to meteorological data. Cladosporium conidia made up 46 % of the catch, hyaline basidiospores 31 %, and pollen only 1 %; the trap’s equal efficiency across spore sizes altered relative frequencies compared to earlier studies, and the data show that spore concentrations are mainly driven by weather and local vegetation phenology, with a 24‑m trap recording 82 % of the 2‑m concentration.
SUMMARY: The air over an arable field at Rothamsted Experimental Station, Harpenden, was sampled from 1 June to 25 October 1952 at 2 m. above ground with an automatic volumetric spore trap. Each day's slide was scanned and all the spores counted on an area representing a sample volume of 41l. of air. Spores were classified in 20 morphological groups and a miscellaneous one. Seasonal periodicities are presented as 6-day running means of the daily average number of spores/m.3 air, and then related to meteorological data. Cladosporium conidia accounted for 46 % of the total catch; hyaline basidiospores (chiefly Sporobolomyces) for 31 %; and pollen only 1 %. The relative frequency of various spore types differs from that recorded by earlier workers because the suction trap catches spores of all sizes with almost equal efficiency and is little influenced by external conditions. The results which should be representative of large rural areas of central and south England show that the major changes of spore concentration depend on the weather and the phenology of the local vegetation and its associated fungal flora. During 24 days in late June and July comparable estimates of spore concentration were made with another trap 24 m. above ground. The spore concentration of the twelve commonest groups at 24 m. totalled 82 % of that at 2 m.