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Tang, Z.* ; Mu, Y.* ; Gonzalez-Alonso, M. ; Li, Q.*

A satellite-based assessment of alder pollen exposure across 51 cities in Bavaria, Germany.

Urban for. urban gree. 123, 129548 - 129548 (2026)
DOI
Open Access Green as soon as Postprint is submitted to ZB.
Alder (Alnus) is a major allergenic tree genus in Europe, but its fine-scale distribution and contribution to urban pollen exposure remain poorly quantified. We developed a satellite-based spatial framework to assess alder-related pollen exposure across 51 cities in Bavaria, Germany. Multi-temporal satellite imagery and environmental predictors were used to map alder at 10 m resolution with five classification models. The predicted alder distribution was converted into a potential pollen exposure index (PPEI) and combined with 100 m gridded population data to estimate population exposure. Spatial clustering and socio-economic correspondence were examined using local and bivariate Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA). The Vision Transformer achieved the best alder classification performance, with an F1 score of 0.65. Mapped alder and PPEI were spatially heterogeneous, with high values concentrated mainly along riparian corridors, humid lowlands, and drainage-related landscapes. Using a common 90th percentile exposure threshold of 1.12 to define high-exposure areas, the proportion of residents living in these areas ranged from 8% to 95% across cities. Local Moran’s I identified High–High exposure clusters mainly in southern Bavaria, whereas Low–Low clusters were more frequent in northwestern and central–northern regions. Bivariate LISA showed that high-exposure cities did not consistently correspond to higher healthcare or social insurance expenditure, revealing spatial mismatches between pollen-related environmental burdens and socio-economic resources. Additional inequality and regression analyses indicated uneven population exposure and spatially varying socio-economic associations. Our framework supports targeted urban vegetation management and environmental health planning.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Alder ; Pollen ; Woody Plant ; Urban Forestry; Climate Surfaces
ISSN (print) / ISBN 1618-8667
e-ISSN 1618-8667
Journal Urban forestry & urban greening
Quellenangaben Volume: 123, Issue: , Pages: 129548 - 129548 Article Number: , Supplement: ,
Publisher Elsevier
Publishing Place München
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Institute for Allergy Research (IAF)
Grants The ePIN-Data project
University Development Fund -Research Start-up Fund from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen