[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/EW-05-09-12-Pollen-.mp3|titles=EW 05-09-12 Pollen]
As part of a field experiment in North Carolina, scientists bathed a pine forest with elevated levels of carbon dioxide, or CO2. This is one of the greenhouse gases that is contributing to global warming. CO2 is emitted when we burn fossil fuels, and it stays in the atmosphere where it traps heat on the earth’s surface.
The researchers wanted to learn how forests would react to the increased levels of CO2 we expect in the coming decades.
One of the most interesting outcomes had to do with pine pollen…
“So much of it falls out of the air.”
Shannon LaDeau, now a community ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, conducted this research while a graduate student at Duke University…
“In the work that I did, I looked at how elevated CO2 affected Loblolly pine trees. They actually began reproducing at both smaller sizes and younger ages than trees grown in ambient CO2 conditions. So what this means is that you have got a relatively young, dense stand contributing pollen – and lots of it – to the air-pollen load.”
Now, not many people are allergic to pine pollen. But lots of us are allergic to ragweed pollen. And similar research has shown that pollen production in ragweed will be increased up to 200% in an atmosphere with high CO2.
Pollen allergies are a nuisance for millions of Americans, and for many, pollen can trigger dangerous asthma attacks.
A longer pollen season and a greater production of pollen per plant: Allergy sufferers and the health professionals who treat them should be concerned about this side effect of climate change.
Web Extra
Shannon LaDeau, a community ecologist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, discusses the possible long-term effects of elevated CO2…
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/LaDeau-Extra_web.mp3|titles=LaDeau Extra_web]Links
Shannon LaDeau
http://www.caryinstitute.org/people_sci_ladeau.html
Climate Change Extends Allergy Season
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=climate-change-extends-allergy-season
Photo, taken on April 7, 2010 using a Nikon D40, courtesy of Leslie via Flickr.