Air pollution tolerance index of certain selected plants by estimation of some biochemical parameters in the industrial town of Bhadravathi, Karnataka, India.
Nuthan Kumar, Hina Kousar
Author Affiliation: Dept. of Environmental Science, Kuvempu University, Shankarghatta 577 451, Karnataka, India.
Lifesciences Leaflets 61 : 75-81
Abstract : Air pollution due to anthropogenic sources, is a matter of concern in the whole world. The urban areas may be viewed as dense sources of enormous anthropogenic emissions of pollutants, which can alter the atmospheric composition, chemistry and life. Trees remove gaseous air pollutants primarily by uptake via leaf stomata, though some gases are removed by the plant surface. Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) is used by landscapers to select plant species tolerant to air pollution. Four physiological and biochemical parameters including leaf relative water content (RWC), ascorbic acid (AA) content, total leaf chlorophyll (TCH) and leaf extract pH were used to develop an APTI. In the present study, 5 plant species were selected for the examination of tolerance index, namely Artocarpus heterophyllus, Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, Ficus benghalensis and Polyalthia longifolia and were monitored. From the result obtained, it has been observed that Artocarpus heterophyllus, Psidium guajava, and Ficus benghalensis were the more tolerant species since they had the least percentage increase in APTI values. In conclusion therefore, APTI determination is of importance because with increased industrialization, there is increasing danger of deforestation due to air pollution. The results of such studies are therefore handy for planting pollution resistant trees for landscaping.