Assessment of Air Pollution Tolerance Index of some plants to develop vertical gardens near street canyons of a polluted tropical city

The aim of the present study was to examine Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) of some climber plant species to develop vertical gardens in Varanasi city which has characteristics of tall building and narrow roads. This condition results in street canyon like structure and hinders the vertical dispersal of air pollutants. We have selected 24 climber plant species which are commonly found in of Varanasi city. Chosen plants can be easily grown either in planter boxes or directly in the ground, with a vertical support they can climb on walls to form green walls or vertical garden. Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) of the selected plant species was calculated and plants with higher APTI are recommended for the development of Vertical garden. Highest APTI was noted for Ipomoea palmata (2539) followed by Aristolochia elegans (23.28), Thunbergia grandiflora (23.14), Quisqualis indica (22.42), and Clerodendrum splendens (22.36). However, lowest APTI value (8.75) was recorded for the species Hemidesmus indicus. Moreover, the linear regression analysis has revealed a high positive correlation between APTI and ascorbic acid content (R-2=0.8837) and positive correlation between APTI and Chlorophyll content (R-2=0.6687). On the basis of higher APTI values (greater than 17), nine species of climber plants viz. I. palmata, T. grandiflora, C splendens, A. elegans, Q, indica, Petria volubilis, Antigonon leptopus, Cryptolepis buchuanni and Tinospora cordifolia have been recommended to develop vertical greenery systems in a compact tropical city. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.