A SUSTAINABLE WAY TO CONTROL AIR POLLUTANTS WITH THE USE OF PLANT SPECIES AT SELECTED AREAS IN DELHI

摘要

Various control measures have been taken to curb air pollution, such as use of plant species for the development of the green belt areas on the basis of certain physiological and biochemical parameters. Our present study emphasizes on the selection of some of the plant species which are recommended as tolerant and also for green belt development in Delhi, with the help of Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) taken as a parameter. The sites which were chosen for the study: Riverine Zone {Site I (Yamuna Biodiversity Park, YBP, Jagatpur Gaon), Site II (Traffic intersection outside YBP, Gandhivihar)} and Hilly Zone {Site III (Aravalli Biodiversity Park, ABP, near Vasant Vihar) and Site IV (Traffic intersection outside ABP, Vasant Vihar)}. The common plant species at Sites I & II are Ipomoea palmata, Ziziphus mauritiana, Datura stramonium, Prosopis juliflora, Calotropis procera and Ricinus commu-nis, and at Sites HI & IV: Azadirachta indica, Derris indica, Prosopis juliflora, Morus alba and Haplophragma adeno-phyllum. Our study concludes that in the area around Riverine Zone, Ricinus communis and Prosopis juliflora were found to be the most tolerant plant species which may be recommended for plantation and can act as air purifiers. In Hilly Zone, Azadirachta indica and Prosopis juliflora were found to be the most tolerant plant species which may be recommended for green belt development in Delhi.