Comparison of pollen sampling with a Burkard Spore Trap and a Tauber Trap in a warm temperate climate

Aerobiological data have been widely used by many scientists, including those that study modern ¯ ora as well as those wishing to reconstruct past vegetational associations. Burkard (Hirst-type) volumetric spore traps are widely used instruments for studying airborne pollen, while Tauber traps are typically used to analyze pollen deposition. The present study compared the pollen collected by these two methods in Tulsa, Oklahoma a warm temperate area with year-round pollen. There was a strong correlation between the pollen in¯ ux from the Tauber traps and cumulative sum of average daily airborne pollen concentrations recorded with the Burkard spore trap over the course of 12 months from 1 Feb 1997 through 1 Feb 1998. The correlation coeYcient between all taxa over the 12 months was 0.914; while the correlation coeYcient for the monthly totals was 0.972. The data showed that both methods re¯ ected local anemophilous vegetation although variations occurred in the prevalence recorded by both samplers.