Dr PK BawejaAJAY2024-03-012024-03-012023-11-23https://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810207244The present investigation entitled “Assessment of Air Pollution Tolerance Index of Plant Species surrounding Cement Industry at Barmana in Himachal Pradesh” was conducted during the year 2022-23 under the Department of Environmental Science, College of Forestry, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni- Solan, Himachal Pradesh. The study was aimed at understanding the seasonal variation in biochemical parameters and determining the indices of the Air Pollution Tolerance and Anticipated Performance along with the dust accumulation capacity of plants growing around the cement industry. In the selected area around the cement industry vegetation distribution was studied. The commonly grown dominant species namely; Cassia fistula, Mangifera indica, Toona ciliate, Ricinus communis and Murraya koenigii were choosen for the study. Studied the seasonal impact of pollutants emitted from cement industry on the plants, horizontal distances of 0-150 m and 150-300 m during winter and summer seasons. Total 20 treatment combinations replicated four times were analysed through three way (factorial) randomized block design. The dust accumulation of selected plant species ranged from 6.57-30.69 mg m-2. The leaf ascorbic acid content of the selected plant species varied from 2.54-4.10 mg g-1. The leaf chlorophyll content of the selected plant species ranged from 0.77-2.44 mg g-1. The leaf extract pH of selected species fluctuated from 5.93- 6.27. The relative water content of selected plant species ranged from 76.46-81.06%. The APTI was calculated on the basis of four bio-chemical parameters; ascorbic acid content, total chlorophyll content, leaf extract pH and relative water content. The APTI of selected plant species varied from 9.43-11.21. The order of selected plant species in accordance with APTI was Cassia fistula (11.21) > Mangifera indica (10.83) > Toona ciliata (10.41) among the tree species and Ricinus communis (10.50) > Murraya koenigii (9.43) in shrubs species. Anticipated Performance Index (API) was also calculated by combining APTI with some socio-economic characters. Among the selected plant species, the order of API was Mangifera indica > Cassia fistula = Ricinus communis = Toona ciliate > Murraya koenigii. Thus, the investigation suggested that Mangifera indica may be grown alongside of the cement industry as green belt. Murraya koenigii being the least tolerant plant species may act as bioindicator of pollutants in the area.EnglishThesis