New citizen science project for pollen forecasting

Almost a third of the world's population suffers from pollen-related respiratory allergies - and the trend is rising. The common hazel (Corylus avellana), also known as the hazel bush, is particularly well known for causing severe allergies. But when exactly do its and other pollen pollute the air particularly severely? To find out, scientists from a wide range of disciplines at TU Ilmenau, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research in Leipzig and Leipzig University Hospital are working together across disciplines in the PollenNet project, which is funded by the Carl Zeiss Foundation. Their aim is to use artificial intelligence to precisely predict pollen levels in the air and thus relieve people affected by allergies. To achieve this, the researchers are combining their expertise in data processing, AI, medicine, botany and ecology as well as fluid mechanics and turbulence theory.

Automatic recognition of hazel blossoms

Citizens can now also help to improve the automatic recognition of hazel blossoms as part of a citizen science project. By using the Flora Incognita app to photograph the male hazel flowers, also known as "catkins", they can help the researchers to find out exactly when the flowers release pollen and when they do not. It doesn't matter whether the flowers are just emerging, in full bloom or have already faded.

All observations documented in the app as part of the project are collected and evaluated completely anonymously in order to answer research questions on the prediction of pollen loads.

More information on participation: floraincognita.de/citizen-science-pollennet/

About the hazel

Detailaufnahme einer Pollenblütepixabay

The common hazel (Corylus avellana), also known as the hazel bush, produces two different flowers: male flowers, which carry pollen, and female flowers, which later produce nuts. Each of the male flowers (also known as catkins) can contain up to two million pollen grains. They are formed in the fall so that they can bloom directly in early spring or even in winter.

Small inflorescences can be seen on many hazel bushes as early as October. Usually two to four hang together at the tips of the shoots. At flowering time, they finally stretch to eight to ten centimetres.