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Dossier
Hay fever and pollen
Hay fever is an allergic reaction that is caused by pollen from trees, grasses and herbaceous plants. When this pollen is dispersed by the wind, people with hay fever suffer from sneezing, red and itchy eyes and a stuffy nose.
Weather conditions determine when 'hay fever plants' flower and how much pollen they release into the atmosphere. Every year, the progression of hay fever symptoms can differ. The daily pollen concentration in the atmosphere in the Netherlands is measured by the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Elkerliek Hospital in Helmond.
As part of the Nature’s Calendar observation programme, secondary school students and volunteers keep track of when various hay fever plants begin flowering. The students who conduct observations are also involved with the GLOBE Programme, an international education programme on the environmental sciences established in 1995 by Al Gore.
Knowledge about hay fever is limited
Ambrosia
One plant species that is known world-wide for causing hay fever symptoms is Ambrosia. This species, which is an exotic in the Netherlands, produces large amounts of strongly allergenic pollen. Moreover, the plant flowers late in the year, so the hay fever season for people who are sensitive to Ambrosia can be up to two months longer. Ambrosia originated from North America and has become widespread in the Netherlands because its seeds are unintentionally present in birdseed and wildflower mixtures. By removing plants before they begin flowering, nuisance from the pollen can be prevented, and the species is less likely to spread.
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Publications on hay fever and pollen
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Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial community dynamics in biofloc systems supplemented with non-starch polysaccharides
Aquaculture (2025), Volume: 594 - ISSN 0044-8486 -
The ‘Carrot Test’ : An approach to characterize individual differences in oral processing behaviour and eating rate
Food Quality and Preference (2025), Volume: 122 - ISSN 0950-3293 -
Microtube self-assembly leads to conformational freezing point depression
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science (2025), Volume: 677 - ISSN 0021-9797 - p. 781-789. -
Durability assessment of lignin-based asphalt for sustainable road construction
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Carbon and greenhouse gas budgets of Europe: trends, interannual and spatial variability, and their drivers
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Het treinstation van Godegård
Geografie (2024), Volume: 33, Issue: 4 - ISSN 0926-3837 - p. 21-24. -
Mapping the development of agroecology in Europe - Volume 2
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Geographic Location Encoding with Spherical Harmonics and Sinusoidal Representation Networks
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A spatially explicit model of beaver river-floodplains: understanding drivers and mapping opportunities for restoration
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Food systems resilience dialogue and pathway development : Jonglei State and Greater Pibor Administrative Area - South Sudan
Wageningen: Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation (Report / Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation WCDI-24-323)