The influence of agricultural land on the level of airborne Alternaria spores

Abstract

Aim of the research was to investigate the impact of agricultural activity on the concentration of Alternaria spores. Materials and methods. The study was carried out at the Department of Medical Biology, Parasitology and Genetics of the ZSMPhU. Samples were collected using a 7-day volumetric sampler of the Hirst type, using the volumetric method. Samples were identified under a light microscope, and spore identification and counting were limited to genus levels. The relationship between seasonal Alternaria spore levels and harvest rates was analysed using Pearson's correlation method. The effect of meteorological conditions and agricultural activity on the daily concentration of Alternaria was analysed using stepwise correlation based on logarithmically transformed daily average spore counts. Classical leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) was used to estimate the mean square error (MSE), associated with this model and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) was used to assess its accuracy. Results. Seasonal characteristics of Alternaria spores and agricultural activity in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions were analysed. The connection of some seasonal and daily indicators with harvesting rates and meteorological conditions was determined. Two models with 5 and 9 parameters were found that best explain the dynamics of Alternaria spores. Conclusions. The most significant parameters positively correlated with Alternaria spore levels were temperature, pressure, westerly wind and wheat yield; relative humidity was negatively correlated