Pollen Rain
Definition
The continuous deposition of airborne pollen onto surfaces in a landscape. Pollen rain reflects regional vegetation and season. It forms the interpretive baseline against which forensic samples are assessed.
- Field
- Forensic palynology
- Driven by
- Regional vegetation and season
- Function
- Interpretive baseline for evidentiary samples
- Collection method
- Trap or surface samples over a season
Common questions
How is pollen rain used in casework?+
An examiner compares the pollen assemblage recovered from an item or scene against known pollen rain records for candidate locations and seasons, looking for a match in the mix and proportions of taxa present rather than a single species.
Does pollen rain stay the same all year?+
No. It shifts through the flowering calendar, so the same site produces a different pollen signature in spring than in autumn, which is what lets palynologists narrow both place and time of year.
Related terms
- Anemophily
- Wind pollination. Anemophilous plants produce vast quantities of lightweight, smooth or finely sculpted pollen designed for long-distance aerial transport. Grasses, birch, oak,...
- Entomophily
- Insect pollination. Entomophilous plants produce sticky, often echinate pollen in smaller quantities. Because it is not designed for aerial travel it does...
- Local Signal
- Pollen from plants growing very close to the sampling point, contributing taxa or proportions that deviate from the regional airborne background and...
- Sporopollenin
- The highly chemically inert polymer forming the outer wall (exine) of pollen grains and spores. Resistant to acid, alkali, oxidation, and biological...
- Taphonomy
- The systematic modification of bone by environmental processes after death, operating over the burial or exposure interval. Includes weathering, soil staining, sun...