Desert dust intrusions and their incidence on airborne biological content. Review and case study in the Iberian Peninsula

Abstract

Desert dust intrusions cause the transport of airborne particulate matter from natural sources, with important consequences for climate regulation, biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and dynamics, human health, and socio-economic activities. Some effects of desert intrusions are reinforced or aggravated by the bioaerosol content of the air during these episodes. The influence of desert intrusions on airborne bioaerosol content has been very little studied from a scientific point of view. In this study, a systematic review of scientific literature during 1970–2021 was carried out following the standard protocol Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). After this literature review, only 6% of the articles on airborne transport from desert areas published in the last 50 years are in some way associated with airborne pollen, and of these, only a small proportion focus on the study of pollen-related parameters. The Iberian Peninsula is affected by Saharan intrusions due to its proximity to the African continent and is seeing an increasing trend the number of intrusion events. There is a close relationship among the conditions favouring the occurrence of intrusion episodes, the transport of particulate matter, and the transport of bioaerosols such as pollen grains, spores, or bacteria. The lack of linearity in this relationship and the different seasonal patterns in the occurrence of intrusion events and the pollen season of most plants hinders the study of the correspondence between both phenomena. It is therefore important to analyse the proportion of pollen that comes from regional sources and the proportion that travels over long distances, and the atmospheric conditions that cause greater pollen emission during dust episodes. Current advances in aerobiological techniques make it possible to identify bioaerosols such as pollen and spores that serve as indicators of long-distance transport from remote areas belonging to other bioclimatic and biogeographical units. A greater incidence of desert intrusion episodes may pose a challenge for both traditional systems and for the calibration and correct validation of automatic aerobiological monitoring methods.