Ambient Lead (Pb) Concentration, Bioaccumulation and its Effects on Leaf Epidermal Structures of Bougainvillea Spectabilis

The ambient air of roadsides of an urban area consists of various toxicants as toxic gases, organic compounds, inorganic compounds, heavy metals etc released by automobiles and chimney stacks of industries. These air pollutants severely affect the health of human beings as well of the plants. This study presents the seasonal Lead (Pb) concentration of ambient air at roadside monitoring stations and bioaccumulation of Pb by leaves of Bougainvillea spectabilis. The effect of Pb on anatomy of leaf epidermal structures (size of guard cells and epidermal cells, number of epidermal cells, number of stomata, stomata frequency, and stomata index) have been statistically studied with the help of Graphpad Instat 3. A strong positive correlation (r=0.9540) was observed by ambient Pb and accumulation of Pb. Only significant positive correlation (r=0.655) at ventral surface and at dorsal surface (r=0.783) was noticed during rainy season for Pb content of leaves with number of stomata and epidermal cells respectively. There were marked significant alterations have been observed at dorsal (r= -0.7810) and ventral (r=0.7335) surfaces for guard cell width respectively and for epidermal cell length (r=0.6938) and cell width (r= 0.6265) at ventral surface.