Standards Development

Scope

This Technical Specification describes the requirements for measurement devices automatically identifying the taxa and corresponding concentrations of pollen and fungal spores in ambient air. The document is intended to present requirements that apply regardless of the measurement technique used and applies equally to all processes described. The document describes the minimum requirements that an automatic pollen or fungal spore measurement shall meet so that the data generated can be used by the end user, no matter the field of interest. For simplicity, the term real-time is used from hereon to refer to both real- and near real-time provision of data. This term is thus used to cover all measurements that can be provided within the space of minutes to a few hours after the observation has been made

Purpose

Airborne biological particles (otherwise known as bioaerosols, for example, pollen grains and fungal spores) play a key role in the reproduction process of plants and fungi. They also play an important role in a number of related processes and directly affect a range of other organisms and systems (e.g. health, environment, agriculture, sylviculture and climate).

A significant proportion of the European population suffer from respiratory allergies related to pollen and/or fungal spores (European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients Association, 2017). Furthermore, it is important to measure bioaerosols to be able to make forecasts for public health, food security, and the effects of plant pathogens on sylviculture, as well as to understand the environmental dynamics of species migrations and invasions. Finally, pollen and fungal spores are also known to play a role in the hydrological cycle and can therefore also have an impact on climate (Fröhlich-Nowoisky et al., 2016; Burkart et al., 2021).

To date, pollen and fungal spores have largely been measured using manual methods following the European norm CEN 16868:2019. Technological advances enable the automatic and near real-time measurement of these particles at high temporal resolution. A number of different techniques have been developed, including but not limited to light- induced fluorescence, holography, and impaction combined with digital microscopy. The data obtained with these methods can be used for a large number of applications, including for pollen and fungal spore forecasts, public health, ecology, forensic science or biodiversity studies, to name but a few.