Pollen Rain and Floristic Inventory in the City of Annaba (Algeria)

Abstract

To study the vegetation cover of a given region, we often call for the study of pollen rain. This method allows the inventory of
vegetation to be carried out during a given period. The objective of this study is to design the plant inventory of a site in the city of
Annaba, the Christian Cemetery, based on pollen analysis. The Cemetery is a favorable place, par excellence, for the development of
foam pads. These are excellent sensors for pollen and spore diversity. The latter are well preserved in their leaves thanks to a suitable
acidity and humidity. Four representative samples of the spatial variability of the cemetery's environment and flora were used. The
results obtained show that the foam pads are, on the one hand, very developed and on the other hand very rich in pollen which are in
perfect state of conservation. Pollen analysis has shown a great diversity in flora, in particular51 taxa belonging to 41 families, 28 tree
species and 23 non-tree species. The pollen of Poaceae is the most dominant in the four samples, followed by the pollens of the species: Pinus sylvestris, Cupressus sempervirens, Quercu ssuber, Olea europeae and Myrica sp. The majority of the plant species existing in the plant cover of the site are manifested by the abundance of their pollens in the moss pads. The presence of "foreign" pollens has been noted in relation to different species which are not included in the cemetery's floristic inventory. The use of pollen analysis helps to define the relationships that exist between the plant inventory making up the plant cover and pollen rain. This approach to determining highly pollen-producing species in protected urban areas could be used as a predictive model, by the Ministry of Health, of periods conducive to allergies in humans.