A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE INCIDENCE OF CLADOSPORIUM CONIDIA IN THE ATMOSPHERE OF FIVE SPANISH CITIES

Abstract

SUMMARY: A comparative study was carried out of the incidence of Cladosporium in theatmosphere of five sampling sites with differential biogeographic features, all belonging tothe Spanish Aerobiology Network ( viz. Barcelona, Cordoba, Granada, Leon and Orense).Data provided by the stations were collected between 1993 and 1998, and revealed that Cladosporium conidia are present in the atmosphere throughout the year; concentrationsmay, however, be very low in winter (particularly in cities such as Leon and Orense). Thehighest Cladosporium concentrations were recorded in Cordoba, particularly in the rainyyears (639,123 conidia in 1997) that followed a long drought in the south of the IberianPeninsula during the years 1993-1995. The highest daily peak was also recorded in Cordo-ba, with 49,536 conidia/m 3 on 17/09/96. In contrast, Barcelona, in 1996, exhibited thelowest concentrations of all the cities, with a total annual count of 90,269 conidia and adaily peak of 2,607 conidia/m 3 ; it was also the city with the most number of days on whichconidial counts exceeded the local mean, thus making it the city with the most uniformatmospheric incidence of