Next Article in Journal
Groundwater Quality Near Riverbanks and Its Suitability for Agricultural Use in Semi-Arid Regions
Previous Article in Journal
Integration of Geophysical Methods to Obtain a Geoarchaeological Model of the Santa Lucia di Mendola Site (Southeastern Sicily—Italy)
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Applied Sciences
Volume 15
Issue 22
10.3390/app152212333
applsci-logo
Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Propose a Special Issue
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

The Ragweed Finder: A Citizen-Science Project to Inform Pollen Allergy Sufferers About Ambrosia artemisiifolia Populations in Austria

by
Lukas Dirr
1,2,3,*,
Katharina Bastl
4,
Maximilian Bastl
4,
Uwe Edwin Berger
2,3,
Johannes Martin Bouchal
1,3,
Andreja Kofol Seliger
5,
Donát Magyar
6,
Jana Ščevková
7,
Tamás Szigeti
6 and
Friðgeir Grímsson
1,*
1
Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
2
Department of Botany, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
3
Research and Development Department, AZ Pollen Research GmbH, 2000 Stockerau, Austria
4
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
5
National Laboratory of Health, Environment and Food, Center for Environment and Health, Department for Air, Noise, Environmental Impact Assessment and Aerobiology, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
6
National Center for Public Health and Pharmacy, 1097 Budapest, Hungary
7
Department of Botany, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, 81102 Bratislava, Slovakia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(22), 12333; https://doi.org/10.3390/app152212333
Submission received: 29 October 2025 / Revised: 16 November 2025 / Accepted: 18 November 2025 / Published: 20 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental Sciences)
Versions Notes

Featured Application

Provide a specific app for citizens to encourage participation in nature observation, with a particular focus on the invasive species Ambrosia artemisiifolia.

Abstract

Ambrosia artemisiifolia (ragweed) is a highly invasive species that produces large amounts of allergenic pollen. This poses a serious health risk to allergy sufferers. The “Ragweed Finder” is an Austrian citizen science platform (website and app) that enables the public to report occurrences of ragweed, which are then verified by experts. Over 90% of reports are confirmed as positive, with most originating from eastern Austria, where ragweed is widespread. The number of reports has generally increased over time, except in 2020 during the pandemic. Report frequency does not directly correlate with daily pollen concentrations, but peaks before and during pollen season. Most observations occur along traffic routes, likely due to seed dispersal by vehicle airflow or easier accessibility for users. Verified observations are displayed on an interactive map, helping allergy sufferers to avoid exposure and informing local authorities of the need for targeted control actions. The data are also used to raise awareness among policymakers and help to enact the first law for the control and prevention of ragweed in Burgenland (Austria), in 2021: the “Burgenland Ragweed Control Act”. This demonstrates the success of the “Ragweed Finder” as an important tool for monitoring this invasive species in Austria.
Keywords: community-science; neophyte; invasive species community-science; neophyte; invasive species

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Dirr, L.; Bastl, K.; Bastl, M.; Berger, U.E.; Bouchal, J.M.; Kofol Seliger, A.; Magyar, D.; Ščevková, J.; Szigeti, T.; Grímsson, F. The Ragweed Finder: A Citizen-Science Project to Inform Pollen Allergy Sufferers About Ambrosia artemisiifolia Populations in Austria. Appl. Sci. 2025, 15, 12333. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152212333

AMA Style

Dirr L, Bastl K, Bastl M, Berger UE, Bouchal JM, Kofol Seliger A, Magyar D, Ščevková J, Szigeti T, Grímsson F. The Ragweed Finder: A Citizen-Science Project to Inform Pollen Allergy Sufferers About Ambrosia artemisiifolia Populations in Austria. Applied Sciences. 2025; 15(22):12333. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152212333

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dirr, Lukas, Katharina Bastl, Maximilian Bastl, Uwe Edwin Berger, Johannes Martin Bouchal, Andreja Kofol Seliger, Donát Magyar, Jana Ščevková, Tamás Szigeti, and Friðgeir Grímsson. 2025. "The Ragweed Finder: A Citizen-Science Project to Inform Pollen Allergy Sufferers About Ambrosia artemisiifolia Populations in Austria" Applied Sciences 15, no. 22: 12333. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152212333

APA Style

Dirr, L., Bastl, K., Bastl, M., Berger, U. E., Bouchal, J. M., Kofol Seliger, A., Magyar, D., Ščevková, J., Szigeti, T., & Grímsson, F. (2025). The Ragweed Finder: A Citizen-Science Project to Inform Pollen Allergy Sufferers About Ambrosia artemisiifolia Populations in Austria. Applied Sciences, 15(22), 12333. https://doi.org/10.3390/app152212333

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Article metric data becomes available approximately 24 hours after publication online.
Back to TopTop