Evaluation of air pollution tolerance index (APTI) of plants growing alongside inner ring road of Kathmandu, Nepal

ABSTRACT

The air quality of the Kathmandu valley is highly degraded by pollution from motor vehicles. Planting green vegetation along roadsides has been shown to reduce air pollutants. Different leaf parameters like pH, relative water content, chlorophyll content, and ascorbic acid content, that comprise the Air pollution tolerance index (APTI), were used to test the susceptibility of plants to air pollution. APTI values of ≤11, 12–16, and ≥17 categorised the plant species under sensitive, moderate, and tolerant species, respectively. In the present study, all the plant species had APTI less than 11. The highest APTI value was for Mangifera indica (10.62) and the lowest for Buddleia asiatica (6.92). Therefore, based on the findings of the present study, planting trees with high APTI value alongside the roads may help reduce air pollution as these trees are resistant to high pollution levels.

KEYWORDS:

• Air pollutants
• roadside plants
• green belt

Acknowledgments

We express our gratitude to Bhaktapur Multiple Campus for providing laboratory facilities for conducting the research; and to Mr. Jayaram Khaiju and Mr. Gaurav Chandra Gyawali for assisting us with the design of the study map and revising our manuscript, respectively; and to the Editor for his helpful interactions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author contributions

ST, SS, and NNM designed the study. Data collection was performed by ST and NNM. Data analysis and manuscript preparation were done by SC and GTM. All of the authors critically revised the manuscript and approved the final version.

Additional information

Funding

The present study did not receive any funding.