Flora ornamental y potencial alergénico de los espacios verdes urbanos. Comparativa en parques de la ciudad de Toledo
- Lara, Beatriz
- Rojo, Jesús
- Blanco, Jesús Javier
- Cardador, Cristina
- Serrano, Juan Ignacio
- Soriano, David
- Pérez-Badia, Rosa
ISSN: 1697-2791
Year of publication: 2017
Issue Title: Aeropalinología y Polinosis
Volume: 17
Issue: 2
Pages: 176-186
Type: Article
More publications in: Revista de Salud Ambiental
Abstract
Urban green spaces are important elements providing environmental, social and economic benefits to the population. Nevertheless, allergenicity is not taken into account in selecting species for urban green spaces. In this paper, the Urban Green Zone Allergenicity Index (IUGZA) has been calculated for the main parks in the town of Toledo . The ultimate purpose of this paper is to assess these spaces’ potential allergenicity and to identify the most important contributors (species) to the index. The results show that elms (family Ulmaceae) are the most abundant trees, whereas plane trees (Platanus orientalis var. acerifolia) and cypresses (family Cupressaceae) are the most relevant contributors to the IUGZA because of their potential allergenicity. A moderate IUGZA value (0.3-0.5) was obtained in the three parks with the highest tree density. On the other hand, a low index value (< 0.3) was obtained in the other two parks under consideration, in correspondence with their low tree density and the combination of exotic and native ornamental species. It would advisable when designing new green spaces to combine different species, avoiding large monospecifc surface areas, and to use entomophilous species with low allergenic potential in order to reduce the allergenic risk.