Assessment of Plants Sensitivity to Air Pollution using Physiological and Biochemical Parameters

Abstract

Plants act as a main green belt enhancement component. Green plants create a surface that may absorb air pollutants and act as a sink for them, making greenbelts an efficient method of controlling air pollution. Thus attention is needed to promote and develop green belt zones in polluted areas. The current study is focused on evaluating the air pollution tolerance levels of Mangifera indica, Ficus religiosa, Psidium guajava, Annona squamosa already grown in polluted and unpolluted sites. By taking into account biochemical markers such as total chlorophyll level, ascorbic acid level, pH, water content, the Air pollution tolerance index (APTI) was calculated. APTI is an empirical relationship that assesses the degree to which different plant species can tolerate air pollution .Plants that possess APTI value less than or equal to 11 are known as sensitive, between 12 and 16 are moderately tolerant and greater than 17 are tolerant. The results obtained from the study showed that M. indica is more tolerant in nature. The rest of the plants used in the study are found to be intermittently tolerant. From this study, it can be concluded that planting Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava ,Annona squamosa, Ficus religosa in urban areas can reduce air pollution. This study also concludes that use of the APTI evaluation for the identification of air pollution tolerant plants is a suitable method.