A Study of Air Pollution Status by Estimation of APTI of Certain Plant Species Around Pratapnagar Circle in Udaipur City

The sensitivity level of plants to air pollutants is evaluated by air pollution tolerance index (APTI). Parameters of leaf like pH, relative water content, chlorophyll, ascorbic acid were analyzed for the computation of air pollution tolerance index (APTI). In the present research, leaf sample of different plant species like Ficus religiosa (Peepal), Nerium indicum (Kaner), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Mangifera indica (Aam), Cassia fistula (Amal tas), Eucalyptus (Nilgiri), Ficus religiosa (Peepal) and Calotropis procera (Aak) were taken from Pratapnagar Circle of Udaipur city, which is connected from national highways and has a heavy load of vehicles. The results obtained showed highest APTI values of Eucalyptus (Nilgiri), followed by Mangifera indica (Aam), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Ficus religiosa (Peepal) and Nerium indicum (Kaner).

Changes in the parameters such as total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid, pH and relative water content of leaf extract were evaluated to know the tolerance level of plant species to air pollution

Chlorophyll content, pH and relative water content decreased when compared to the control sample, while ascorbic acid content of the plants increased showing the susceptibility level of plant species to various air pollutants

Study reveals that plantation of Eucalyptus (Nilgiri), Mangifera indica (Aam), Azadirachta indica (Neem) and Calotropis procera (Aak) can be proved useful from the biomonitoring point of view and their green belts can be developed for reducing air pollution in the particular area