Influence of a Municipal Solid Waste Landfill on the Surrounding Environment: Landfill Vegetation as a Potential Risk of Allergenic Pollen

Magdalena Daria Vaverková, Dana Adamcová, Jan Winkler, Eugeniusz Koda, Jana Červenková and Anna Podlasek
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Magdalena Daria Vaverková: Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Dana Adamcová: Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Jan Winkler: Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Eugeniusz Koda: Institute of Civil Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02 776 Warsaw, Poland
Jana Červenková: Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic
Anna Podlasek: Institute of Civil Engineering, Warsaw University of Life Sciences–SGGW, Nowoursynowska 159, 02 776 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-15

Abstract: When the landfill use comes to end, important subsequent steps include aftercare, safety assurance, and ecological regeneration. Landfill revegetation is cost-effective and eco-friendly approach in the management of landfill areas, which serves the purpose of stabilization and provides a pleasant landscape. There are various vegetation types that can be planted, yet grass species are often used for low-cost reasons. Plants can be important sources of air pollution, particularly by grass pollen. The main goal of our study was to identify plant species that produce allergenic pollen. Long-term vegetation monitoring took place on three sites in the growing seasons of years 2008–2018. Studied objects were landfills located in the Czech Republic. The vegetation was assessed using a floristic survey of identified plant species. Plant species that produced allergens were recorded. During the monitoring, 298 plant species were determined. Plant species with allergenic pollen have a considerable share in the landfill vegetation. Thus, landfills are potential sources of various kinds of allergenic pollen. Moreover, our results indicated that there are three periods of pollen production: early spring, late spring, and early summer; late summer; and autumn. The second period is typical for the production of highly allergenic pollen by grasses. Most detected plant species with allergenic pollen are common for all monitored sites, which demonstrates that the vegetation of landfills is a significant source of allergenic pollen.

Keywords: municipal solid waste; ecological regeneration; revegetation; allergenic pollen (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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