Comparative evaluation of air pollution tolerance of plants from polluted and non-polluted regions of Bengaluru

ABSTRACT

Green vegetation acts as a sink for particulate air pollutants and is considered as ecologically sustainable costeffective strategies to mitigate ill effects of air pollution in industrialized areas and urban environment. In this context,assessment of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) offers simple tool for screening and identifying plants that tolerateair pollution. Six plants commonly growing in the polluted regions of Bengaluru were selected for assessing the airpollution tolerance response. APTI indices of Ocimum sanctum, Ricinus communis, Leucas aspera, Lantana camara,Bougainvillea spectabilis, and Vinca rosea were assessed and compared with the plants grown in non-polluted sitesof Bengaluru to analyze the response to air pollution. APTI correlations with the biochemical and physicochemicalparameters were analyzed to identify the important determinants of air pollution tolerance. Among the parametersassessed ascorbic acid content correlated with APTI scores of plants (R2 0.88). Among the plants evaluated, highAPTI of >23 was recorded in B. spectabilis and V. rosea, indicating that these plants are tolerant to air pollutants atthe collected sites. O. sanctum recorded lowest APTI of 8.77–9.42, indicating that these plants are sensitive to airpollutants and can be used for biomonitoring the air pollution. L. aspera, V. rosea, and B. spectabilis with APTI scoreof >16 can be used as green belt in polluted areas.