For nearly a decade, the majority of the world's population has been living in cities, including a considerable percentage of people suffering from pollen allergy. The increasing concentration of people in cities results in larger populations being exposed to allergenic pollen at the same time. There is almost no information about spatial distribution of pollen within cities as well as a lack of information about the possible impact to human health. To obtain this increasing need for pollen exposure studies on an intra-urban scale, a novelty screening network of 14 weekly changed pollen traps was established within a large metropolitan area-Berlin, Germany. Gravimetric pollen traps were placed at a uniform street-level height from March until October 2014. Three important allergenic pollen types for Central Europe-birch (Betula), grasses (Poaceae), and mugwort (Artemisia)-were monitored. Remarkable spatial and temporal variations of pollen sedimentation within the city and the influences by urban local sources are shown. The observed differences between the trap with the overall highest and the trap with the overall lowest amount of pollen sedimentation were in the case of birch pollen 245%, grass pollen 306%, and mugwort pollen 1962%. Differences of this magnitude can probably lead to different health impacts on allergy sufferers in one city. Therefore, pollen should be monitored preferably in two or more appropriate locations within large cities and as a part of natural air quality regulations.

Allergy Centre Charité Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Charitéplatz 1 10117 Berlin Germany

Buchholzer Str 18 10437 Berlin Germany

Department of Dermatology Venerology and Allergology Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Charitéplatz 1 10117 Berlin Germany

Foundation German Pollen Information Service Charitéplatz 1 10117 Berlin Germany

German Environment Agency Corrensplatz 1 14195 Berlin Germany

Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Zámek 1 25243 Průhonice Czech Republic

Vulkanstraße 1 27809 Lemwerder Germany

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