Effect of vehicular emissions on Alstonia scholaris R.Br.

The term pollution refers to any undesirable change in the physical, chemical & biological characteristic of air, water and soil, which may harmfully effect our life. Air pollution has emerged as a major environmental threat of modern times. The major contaminants contained in automotive exhaustare CO, hydrocarbons, NOx and particles. The amount of contaminants in the exhaust predominantly depends on air fuel ratio. More direct entry of gaseous pollutions into the plants is through stomata. Gaseous air pollutants after entering the plant tissue, are able to dissolve in the intercellular water. The resulting acid (if it is acidic pollutant) then attacks the cell structure within the leaf. This is why early soluble air pollutants like SO2 , hydrochloride and hydrofluoric acids etc are most toxic. In the present investigation there was a moderate to heavy amount change in the elemental composition as well as biochemical parameters in Alstonia scholaris growing in the vicinity of heavy vehicular pollution, as compared to reference site.