Record Pollen Counts Worldwide: Unusually warm weather said to be the cause, I have another theory, page 1


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Topic started on 26-4-2012 @ 04:08 PM by UberL33t
In recent news, pollen counts have been setting records. Here are just a few stories that will get one up to speed.

Pollen Count in New Jersey is Breaking Records
Record pollen counts across the U.S. Southeast caused by unusually warm weather
Atlanta weather | Pollen count over 8,000 shatters old record for Atlanta
Warm Weather Triggers Early Allergy Season

And, in some areas, not only is the season starting early, but the pollen counts are breaking records. Several days ago, Atlanta's pollen count reading was 9,369 particles of pollen per cubic meter, which is 55 percent higher than the old record high set in 1999. Normally, anything above 1,500 is considered high in the Atlanta area, according to the American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (ACAAI).



Image: On March 21, 2012

But it's not only in the U.S., although I wasn't able to find any direct statistics to specific pollen counts, the following articles allude to a higher than normal count.

Green clouds over Moscow spark disaster fears



Drivers warned as pollen cloud menace heads for UK

So what exactly is pollination?

Pollination - leads to the creation of new seeds that grow into new plants. It all begins in the flower. Flowering plants have several different parts that are important in pollination. Flowers have male parts called stamens that produce a sticky powder called pollen. Flowers also have a female part called the pistil. The top of the pistil is called the stigma, and is often sticky. Seeds are made at the base of the pistil, in the ovule.



To be pollinated, pollen must be moved from a stamen to the stigma. When pollen from a plant's stamen is transferred to that same plant's stigma, it is called self-pollination. When pollen from a plant's stamen is transferred to a different plant's stigma, it is called cross-pollination.


However I wanted to focus more around cross-pollination, the pollen clouds as well as the record breaking pollen counts are imo conducive to this particular aspect of pollination.

Cross Pollination - When pollen from a plant's stamen is transferred to a different plant's stigma, it is called cross-pollination. Cross-pollination produces stronger plants. The plants must be of the same species. For example, only pollen from a daisy can pollinate another daisy. Pollen from a rose or an apple tree would not work.

But how does pollen from one plant get moved to another?


To help support a theory I have I am going to focus on one particular method at which plants and trees cross-pollinate and that is by wind.

The wind picks up pollen from one plant and blows it onto another.

Plants that are pollinated by wind often have long stamens and pistils. Since they do not need to attract animal pollinators, they can be dully colored, unscented, and with small or no petals since no insect needs to land on them.


Source

From all of the above, the record high pollen counts are being attributed to the warmer than usual winter and other than ordinary arrival of the spring season. A very reasonable and seemingly likely cause to said pollen production.

However, I have a theory I would like to propose.

I started to wonder about vegetation and any survival methods they may exhibit. Through a little research I was able to discover that vegetation will exhibit behavior when in survival mode. Here's one such example:

Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and consequently rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their propagules, including both abiotic and biotic vectors. Seeds can be dispersed away from the parent plant individually or collectively, as well as dispersed in both space and time. The patterns of seed dispersal are determined in large part by the dispersal mechanism and this has important implications for the demographic and genetic structure of plant populations, as well as migration patterns and species interactions. There are five main modes of seed dispersal: gravity, wind, ballistic, water and by animals. Some plants are serotinous and only disperse their seeds in response to an environmental stimulus. It can be measured using seed traps.


Source

It wouldn't be too far out of the realm of possibility to think that mass production of pollen would be a similar form of this dispersal due to being in survival mode. Perhaps the trees are telling us something by producing an over abundance of pollen in an attempt to prolong their species.

The other than ordinary warm trend and early start to spring may be a precursor and the plants and trees are simply ahead of the game for whatever is to come, I wonder what the pollen counts are like before an Ice Age ensues?

By all means I invite other theories to this thread, or opposition to the theory proposed within the OP.

Thank you for reading.


reply posted on 27-4-2012 @ 05:16 AM by curioustype
reply to post by UberL33t


I think you are probably right that such phenomena probably reflect a 'survival mode', but what are the plants reacting to?

Climate change (temperature) - or could it be:

Water shortages caused by drought/depletion of ground water e.g. USA/UK...?

Increased forest fires e.g. Russia/N Europe/Australia/USA...?

Chemical changes to atmospheric gases e.g. Carbon Monoxide Increase, Methane releases(Arctic, Siberia, etc...), Acidic Pollutants...?

The changes identified in the earth's magnetosphere - a possible identifier to the plants of other forthcoming habitat changes to adapt to?

Increased desease/parasitic menace...possibly not yet identified?

Interesting post, thanks.
edit on 27-4-2012 by curioustype because: clarification of 'temperature'

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