Biological monitoring of roadside plants exposed to vehicular pollution in Jalgaon city.

ABSTRACT

Experiments on air and biomonitoring were conducted to evaluate pollution impact on the vegetation along the road in Jalgaon City, Maharashtra. The plantation along the roads and mainly includes neem (Aadirachta indica), peepal (Ficus religiosa), banyan (Ficus benghalensis), almond (Terminalia catapa). For biomonitoring, leaf area, total chlorophyll, plant protein were analyzed to study the impact of air pollutants. It was observed that vegetation at roadside with heavy traffic and markets was much affected by vehicular emission. Significant decrease in total chlorophyll and protein content was observed with reduced leaf area. It is concluded that plants can be used as indicators for urban air pollution, and there is need to protect the roadside plants from air pollution.