Plants as Bio - indicators and Bio - monitors of Urban Air Pollution [ READ ]
Kiran Kumar S J, K. M. Sharu Raj, Deepalakshmi A. P
Air pollution is one of the major problems faced by the people all over the world. This paper describes the tolerance among roadside plants to air pollution. Evaluation of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) of 5 selected wild roadside plant species along the busy roadways of Bangalore was carried out to assess their response to ambient levels of air pollutants. There was a significant reduction in total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid and relative water content showing an inverse relationship with traffic density. Similarly, pH of leaf extract showed an exponential decrease with increase in traffic density and drifted towards acidic range. Cynodondactyloncancan be used as an effective bio - indicator, while Ricinuscommunis could serve as a sink to air pollutants. The plant species with higher APTI value can be used for plantation program in urbanized and industrial areas. This helps in the reductionof the effects of air pollution, making the ambient atmosphere clean and healthy.
Kiran Kumar S J, K. M. Sharu Raj, Deepalakshmi A. P
Air pollution is one of the major problems faced by the people all over the world. This paper describes the tolerance among roadside plants to air pollution. Evaluation of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) of 5 selected wild roadside plant species along the busy roadways of Bangalore was carried out to assess their response to ambient levels of air pollutants. There was a significant reduction in total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid and relative water content showing an inverse relationship with traffic density. Similarly, pH of leaf extract showed an exponential decrease with increase in traffic density and drifted towards acidic range. Cynodondactyloncancan be used as an effective bio - indicator, while Ricinuscommunis could serve as a sink to air pollutants. The plant species with higher APTI value can be used for plantation program in urbanized and industrial areas. This helps in the reductionof the effects of air pollution, making the ambient atmosphere clean and healthy.
