SYLVA supports the development of next-generation technologies and infrastructure to better understand how bioaerosols are changing in response to environmental and climate factors.
Bioaerosols are airborne biological particles such as pollen, fungal spores, bacteria, viruses, and fragments of plant or animal material. They are naturally present in the atmosphere and play important roles in ecosystems, climate processes, agriculture, and human health.
Bioaerosols can trigger allergies and respiratory diseases, influence cloud formation as well as air quality, and cause significant damage to important agricultural crops. Climate change, land-use changes, and air pollution are altering the distribution, seasonality, and concentration of bioaerosols across Europe.
Improved monitoring of bioaerosols is thus essential to better understand and predict their impacts on health, ecosystems, and the environment.
SYLVA demonstration pilots evaluate monitoring technologies under diverse environmental stress conditions across Europe, including cold and humid northern regions, high-altitude alpine environments, and hot, dust-influenced southern regions.
Cold, humid, and supersaturated environments
Where: Pallas, Kuopio, Helsinki (FI)
Freezing, condensation, and low pollen levels affect measurements.
Improving detection in cold climates and handling ice and moisture.
Extreme and rapidly changing atmospheric conditions
Where: Jungfraujoch (CH), Schneefernerhaus (DE)
Rapid shifts in temperature and humidity stress measurement systems.
Ensuring reliable performance under low pressure and in-cloud conditions.
Hot, dry, and dust-influenced environments
Where: Córdoba (ES), Potenza (IT), Novi Sad (RS)
High pollution can alter particles and reduce detection accuracy.
Adapting instruments to high temperatures and dense aerosol loads.
A growing number of automatic bioaerosol monitors are connected to the SYLVA infrastructure and deliver real-time data. Raw data from these sites can be downloaded directly from the SYLVA data portal and real-time bioaerosol concentrations downloaded from the EBAS website.
Data Portal EBASRecent updates from the SYLVA project.
