Allergo J Int 2017; 26: 155–64 Introduction Birch (Betula ), grass (Poaceae), and mugwort (Arte- misia ) pollen belong to the most important aeroaller- gens. In Germany, Betula and Poaceae pollen each in- duce clinically relevant sensitizations in more than a third of the total population [1]. Artemisia pollen af- fects nearly 20 % of the German population [1]. Al- though seasonal allergic rhinitis clearly impairs health-related quality of life and, e. g., performance on the job, insufficient treatment of the symptoms, underdiagnoses, or self-diagnoses by patients not turning to a doctor are prevalent socio-economic problems [2, 3]. Birch trees and grass are widely spread in urban areas [4]. Birch trees are favored or- namental trees in cities, but should not be further planted in public spaces in order to reduce urban pol- len load [5]. Local sources in cities, such as ornamen- tal trees, may play a prominent role in the develop- ment of sensitizations to their particular pollen [6]. In many cases, graminaceous vegetation frequently Birch, grass, and mugwort pollen concentrations and intradiurnal patterns at two different urban sites in Berlin, Germany ANKE SIMOLEIT 1, 6 , MATTHIAS WERCHAN 2, 3 , BARBORA WERCHAN 2, 3 , HANS-GUIDO MÜCKE 4 , ULRICH GAUGER 5 , T ORSTEN ZUBERBIER 1 , KARL -CHRISTIAN BERGMANN 1 1 Allergy-Center-Charité, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 2 Foundation German Pollen Information Service (PID), Berlin, Germany; 3 Department of Dermatology, Venerology, and Allergology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany; 4 German Environment Agency (UBA), Berlin, Germany; 5 Berlin, Germany; 6 Lemwerder, Germany Abstract Purpose: e study investigated the seasonal cours- es and intradiurnal patterns of birch (Betula), grass (Poaceae), and mugwort (Artemisia) pollen at two sites in the city of Berlin in 2014 and 2015. Methods: e “Motorway Site” was situated at a busy city motorway and the “City Center Site” on the roof of a large hospital. Sampling was under- taken with 7 day recording volumetric spore traps. Light microscopic analysis led to daily means (pol- len/m 3 air) and 2 h means (daily %). Correlation co- efficients were calculated to compare pollen season between the sites. Rainless days were examined for their intradiurnal maximum of pollen concentra- tion and corresponding wind direction in order to identify the impact of local pollen sources. Birch trees, grassed areas, and mugwort/field sagewort stems were mapped at both sites. Results: e seasonal courses of Betula, Poaceae, and Artemisia pollen each showed significantly pos- itive correlations between the sites, but absolute counts were higher at the motorway. Artemisia pol- len showed a distinct morning profile at both sites. Poaceae pollen concentrated on the second half of the day peaking in the evening or at night. Betula pollen offered no clear trend, but the main period mostly started at 8 am and lasted until the end of day. Conclusions: Higher pollen counts at the motorway seem to be associated with the local vegetation that was much more abundant than at the city center. Local sources of weeds (Artemisia) and grasses (Poaceae) releasing pollen at low heights appear to be more contributing for local pollen load than trees (Betula) at these sites. Cite this as Simoleit A, Werchan M, Werchan B, Mücke H-G, Gauger U, Zuberbier T, Bergmann K-C. Birch, grass, and mugwort pollen concentrations and intradiurnal patterns at two different urban sites in Berlin, Germany. Allergo J Int 2017;26: 155–64 DOI: 10.1007/s40629-017-0012-4 Keywords allergenic pollen – seasonal cour- ses – intradiurnal patterns – large city –city motorway Submitted November 13, 2016 Accepted January 21, 2017 Online-Version http://link.springer. com/journal/40629 Literaturreferat dieser Arbeit auf Deutsch: Seite 12 28 Original