Dossier
Hay fever and pollen
Hay fever is an allergic reaction that is caused by pollen from trees, grasses and herbaceous plants. When this pollen is dispersed by the wind, people with hay fever suffer from sneezing, red and itchy eyes and a stuffy nose.
Weather conditions determine when 'hay fever plants' flower and how much pollen they release into the atmosphere. Every year, the progression of hay fever symptoms can differ. The daily pollen concentration in the atmosphere in the Netherlands is measured by the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Elkerliek Hospital in Helmond.
As part of the Nature’s Calendar observation programme, secondary school students and volunteers keep track of when various hay fever plants begin flowering. The students who conduct observations are also involved with the GLOBE Programme, an international education programme on the environmental sciences established in 1995 by Al Gore.
Knowledge about hay fever is limited
Ambrosia
One plant species that is known world-wide for causing hay fever symptoms is Ambrosia. This species, which is an exotic in the Netherlands, produces large amounts of strongly allergenic pollen. Moreover, the plant flowers late in the year, so the hay fever season for people who are sensitive to Ambrosia can be up to two months longer. Ambrosia originated from North America and has become widespread in the Netherlands because its seeds are unintentionally present in birdseed and wildflower mixtures. By removing plants before they begin flowering, nuisance from the pollen can be prevented, and the species is less likely to spread.
- Unfortunately, your cookie settings do not allow videos to be displayed. - check your settings
Publications on hay fever and pollen
-
Explore before you restore : Incorporating complex systems thinking in ecosystem restoration
Journal of Applied Ecology (2024) - ISSN 0021-8901 -
Polite Teacher : Semi-Supervised Instance Segmentation With Mutual Learning and Pseudo-Label Thresholding
IEEE Access (2024), Volume: 12 - ISSN 2169-3536 - p. 37744-37756. -
Distributional impact of climate-smart villages on access to savings and credit and adoption of improved climate-smart agricultural practices in the Nyando Basin, Kenya
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change (2024), Volume: 29, Issue: 4 - ISSN 1381-2386 -
Economic supply chain modelling of industrial insect production in the Netherlands
Journal of Insects as Food and Feed (2024) - ISSN 2352-4588 -
Commodity risk assessment of Cornus alba and Cornus sanguinea plants from the UK
EFSA Journal (2024), Volume: 22, Issue: 3 - ISSN 1831-4732 -
Behaviours of honeybees can reduce the probability of deformed wing virus outbreaks in Varroa destructor-infested colonies
Modeling Earth Systems and Environment (2024) - ISSN 2363-6203 -
Adaptation pathways for effective responses to climate change risks
Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change (2024) - ISSN 1757-7780 -
The genetics of resilience and its relationships with egg production traits and antibody traits in chickens
Genetics Selection Evolution (2024), Volume: 56, Issue: 1 - ISSN 0999-193X -
Short-term impacts of polyethylene and polyacrylonitrile microplastics on soil physicochemical properties and microbial activity of a marine terrace environment in maritime Antarctica
Environmental Pollution (2024), Volume: 347 - ISSN 0269-7491 -
Demographic, clinical, and sociocognitive determinants related to physical activity and dietary intake in patients with ovarian cancer : A cross-sectional study
Gynecologic Oncology (2024), Volume: 183 - ISSN 0090-8258 - p. 39-46.