Unraveling the Drivers of Airborne Pollen Variability in a Rapidly Urbanizing Region: Interactions Between Land‐Use Change and Meteorological Factors in Nanjing, Eastern China

Abstract Airborne pollen is a sensitive biological indicator of interactions between meteorological processes and land cover. Prior research has emphasized meteorological influences, with less focus on long‐term land‐cover changes. Using a 7‐year data set (2013–2019) from rapidly urbanizing Nanjing, a city in eastern China, this study quantified pollen source areas, examined pollen‐meteorology relationships from deseasonalized daily anomalies, and explored the relationships among airborne pollen, meteorology, and land cover. Results show that local airborne pollen primarily originates from within 5–20 km. At the synoptic scale, relative humidity was a consistent negative driver, wind speed a positive driver, and temperature a weak driver; precipitation showed taxon‐specific correlations, which may be attributable to certain synoptic weather systems that concurrently favor both precipitation and pollen activity. Critically, the marked post‐2015 decline in Morus and Poaceae pollen was robustly attributed to local agricultural‐to‐urban conversion (e.g., mulberry field loss explained 99.6% of Morus pollen variance). Given the absence of significant background climatic trends, the observed shifts in pollen concentration and seasonality are best explained by land‐cover and land‐management changes. This study demonstrates that in regions undergoing intense anthropogenic change, land‐ cover alterations can outweigh the influence of meteorological factors on pollen concentrations. Consequently, these results highlight airborne pollen as a valuable proxy for tracking human‐driven environmental change.