Comparative assessment of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) in the industrial (Rourkela) and non industrial area (Aizawl) of India: An ecomanagement approach

Science for phyto-technologies has got immense application in air pollution science. The present study focuses on the determination of air pollution tolerance indices (APTI) from six common road side plant species growing along industrial (Rourkela) and non industrial area (Aizawl), India. The APTI was determined by synthesizing the four different physiological and biochemical parameters, that is, leaf relative water content (RWC), ascorbic acid content (AA), total leaf chlorophyll (TCh) and pH of leaf extract. The plant species selected for the study were Ficus bengalensis, Mangifera indica, Bougainvillea spectabilis, Psidium guajava, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and Lantana camara. Reduction in total chlorophyll content and pH was found in the leaf samples of all selected plants collected from Industrial site (Rourkela) when compared with samples from non industrial site (Aizawl) whereas APTI, ascorbic acid and RWC were found to be higher in the plant samples of Industrial site (Rourkela) as compared to non industrial site (Aizawl). On the basis of APTI, F. bengalensis was found to be tolerant (8.64) in industrial site (Rourkela) and M. indica (7.95) in non industrial site (Aizawl). Plant species such as M. indica and B. spectabilis, showing minimum difference in their APTI values may be considered as tolerant for both (industrial and non industrial) sites.Key words: Air pollution tolerance indices (APTI), biochemical parameters, Ficus bengalensis, roadside plants