Aeropalynological study of Obukpa town, Enugu State, Nigeria

The diversity and abundance of airborne palynomorphs and other bio particles in the atmosphere of Obukpa was studied for a period of three months, from June through August 2010. The palynomorphs were trapped with Tauber sampler mounted at three locations during the period of study. A total of three thousand, eight hundred and ninety-nine (3,899) palynomorphs consisting of 3365 (86.3%) pollen grains, 496 (12.72%) fungal spores and 38 (0.98%) of other bio particles (insect parts and trichomes) was identified from the study. The pollen types which dominated the atmosphere of the sampled area included members of Combretaceae/Melastomataceae, Poaceae, Asteraceae, Amarathaceae, Lannea sp.,  Pentaclethra macrophylla and Alchornea cordifolia . The identified pollen grains were representatives of some trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses. The major contributors to the fugal aerospora were Glomerularia sp., Nigrospora sp., Cercospora sp., Asperosporium sp., Fusoma , Dreschlera , Helminthosporium and so on. Comparatively, there were variations in the quantity of the trapped palynomorphs during the three months study period which could have resulted from differences in the flowering period of the plants as well as influence of some meteorological factors such as rainfall, temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and wind direction. Keywords: Palynomorphs, Pollen types, bio particles, fungal spores, atmosphere