Suitability assessment of some tree species in traffic-area verges of Delhi, India for air pollution tolerance-cum-performance for green urban planning
Author(s): Babita Singh and Anubha Kaushik
Abstract: Roadside verges have great role in improving ecology, aesthetics and air quality of urban areas. Capacity of various species to tolerate air pollution and their overall socio-economic importance are crucial for assessing their suitability in green urban planning, an aspect that has largely been overlooked. The present study was undertaken in highly polluted metropolitan city of Delhi, India, assessing five tree species of roadside verges
Bauhinia variegata,
Ficus benghalensis,
Ficus religiosa,
Mangifera indica and
Polyalthia longifolia found consistently in high, medium, and low traffic areas in Delhi for their tolerance and performance based on Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) and Anticipated Performance Index (API). These indices varied with species, but all responded to increasing air pollution through changed contents of ascorbic acid, relative water, total chlorophyll and pH in leaf extract. For all the species APTI followed the order: S1 (high traffic) > S2 (medium traffic) > S3 (low traffic area), the magnitude of variations was however, species dependent. All species were good performers based on holistic API parameters.
Ficus religiosa and
Mangifera indica were found to be excellent performers in highly polluted site S1 (API > 80%), while others were very good /good performers indicating their potential role in scientific urban landscaping of polluted sites.
Pages: 122-134 | Views: 361 | Downloads: 176Download Full Article: Click HereHow to cite this article:
Babita Singh, Anubha Kaushik. Suitability assessment of some tree species in traffic-area verges of Delhi, India for air pollution tolerance-cum-performance for green urban planning. Int J Geogr Geol Environ 2022;4(2):122-134.
