Air pollution tolerance index to assess the pollution tolerance level of plant species in industrial areas

Abstract

The objective of the present research was to examine the air pollution tolerance index (APTI) of 20 plant species near an industrial complex. The highest APTI was calculated for plant Dalbergia sisoo (25.75) and the lowest was for Artocarpus sp. (11.40). Relative water content for different plant species varied between 52.45 mg/g (Artocarpus sp.) to 89.56 mg/g (Ailanthus excels) and pH between 3.49 (Pongamia pinnata) to 7.01 (Dalbergia sisoo).The chlorophyll content was found maximum in Mangifera indica (14.23 mg/g) and minimum in Eucalyptus sp. (5.34 mg/g).The highest ascorbic acid was recorded in Dalbergia sisoo (9.05 mg/g) and lowest in Gmelina arborea (4.36 mg/g). Further, both total chlorophyll and relative water contents were significantly correlated with APTI (r =0.7356 and r =0.8302, respectively). It was calculated that there is no significant correlation of pH with APTI (r = 0.1407), whereas ascorbic acid was significantly correlated with APTI (r = 0.8522). Present study provides a basic idea for screening and selecting plant species for plantation in industrial areas.