Monitoring seasonal pollen deposition in an arid environment using Tauber traps: ecological and aerobiological insights from Kashan, central Iran

Abstract

Monitoring atmospheric pollen deposition with Tauber traps has long supported palaeoecological studies in temperate regions of Europe, but their application in arid regions and their potential in aerobiology remain underexplored. We installed Tauber traps at three sites in Kashan and neighboring towns on the western margin of the central Iranian desert, with weekly and monthly (4-weekly) collections over one year, to assess their efficiency in capturing seasonal airborne pollen. The traps reliably reflected both regional desert-steppe vegetation and urban or peri-urban plantations. Comparison with clinical allergy data shows that Chenopodiaceae (s. str.) and Artemisia, together with Morus alba, Olea europaea, and Cupressus, are the major airborne allergens in Kashan. Our findings stress that the allergenic importance of Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia—dominant in summer and autumn pollen rains—has been underestimated in regional aerobiological surveys and clinical testing, which typically rely on a narrow set of non-native extracts. We propose that Tauber traps, as a simple and inexpensive tool, could complement aerobiological monitoring in remote drylands and inform both ecological and medical studies.