ASSESSMENT OF AIR POLLUTION TOLERANCE INDEX OF PLANTS GROWING ALONGSIDE MARKANDA TO PAONTA SAHIB NATIONAL HIGHWAY (NH-7) IN HIMACHAL PRADESH

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2016
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ABSTRACT The present investigations entitled “Assessment of air pollution tolerance index of plants growing alongside Markanda to Paonta Sahib National Highway(NH-7) in Himachal Pradesh” were conducted during 2015-2016 in the Department of Environmental Science, Dr. Y.S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Himachal Pradesh. These studies were aimed at understanding the seasonal variation in biochemical parameters and determining the indices of Air Pollution Tolerance and Anticipated Performance along with dust accumulation capacity of plants growing alongside Markanda to Paonta Sahib National Highway (NH-7). In the selected stretch of the Highway vegetation distribution was studied by quadrat method. The commonly occurring four plants species namely, Ficus roxburghii, Mallotus philippensis, Shorea robusta and Woodfordia fruticosa were selected for the study. In order to study the impact of vehicular activities on the plants, the horizontal distances of 010 m and 10-20 m were selected and two seasons viz. post-monsoon (October-November) and pre-monsoon (April and May) were considered. In total, there were 16 treatment combinations which were replicated four times under RBD (Factorial). The dust accumulation of the selected plant species ranged from 1.28 -71.06 mg m-2. Order of selected plant species according to dust accumulation was F. roxburghii (38.30mg m-2) > S. robusta (26.94 mg m-2) > M. philippensis (22.31 mg m-2) > W. fruticosa (16.70mg m-2). Dust accumulation was higher in pre monsoon (30.70 mg g-2) and lower in post monsoon season (21.42 mg g-2). Plants growing at a distance of 0-10 m from the Highway accumulated higher dust as compared to those at a distance of 10-20 m. The ascorbic acid content of selected plant species varied from 0.96- 2.67 mg g-1. The chlorophyll content in the leaves of selected plant species ranged from 0.82-1.82 mg g-1. The leaf extract pH of plants varied from 5.17-6.68. The relative water content of the selected plant species ranged from 78.77-90.64%. The APTI was calculated on the basis of four biochemical parameters like ascorbic acid content, total chlorophyll content, leaf extract pH and relative water content. By combining resultant APTI with some relevant biological and socio economic characters Anticipated Performance Index (API) was calculated for the selected plant species. The order of tolerance of selected plant species was S. robusta (10.28) > F. roxburghii (9.51) > W. fruticosa (8.92) > M. philippensis (8.91). The highest APTI was observed in the post monsoon season (9.76) followed by pre monsoon season (9.05). The selected plant species growing at a horizontal distance of 0-10 m from National Highway were observed to have higher values (9.70) as compared to those at a distance of 10-20 m (9.11). The relatively higher APTI value of S. robusta as compared to other species indicated its tolerance to pollution along the Highway. The assessment of the API with respect to the selected plant species was observed to fall in the range of not recommended categoryto the bestone. S. robusta with higher APTI and API has been identified as suitable plant for plantation along the Markanda to Paonta Sahib National Highwayto filter theair pollution and reduce its impact on human health.
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plants,air pollution tolerance index, HP
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