Seasonal Variation of Leaf Dust Accumulation and Biochemical Parameters of Selected Plant Species Alongside the National Highway-7 in Sirmaur, H.P, India

Atmospheric particulate matter represents a complex mixture of organic and inorganic substances of varying size and may enter an organism or plant in a number of ways. Roadside vegetation communities are greatly affected by the dust from highways and roads due to changes induced in biochemical parameters (ascorbic acid content, pH, Relative Water Content, total chlorophyll content). Particulate Abstract The present study was carried out to assess the dust interception efficiency and impact of dust deposition on biochemical parameters of plant species growing alongside National Highway (NH-7) at Sirmaur, H.P, India. Plants are universal sink of CO2. The plant species selected for the study were Ficus roxburghii, Mallotus philippensis, Shorea robusta, Woodfordia fruticosa. The observed trend of dust accumulation was in the order Ficus roxburghii (38.30 mg m-2) >Shorea robusta (26.94 mg m-2),>Mallotus philippensis (22.31 mg m-2) >Woodfordia fruticosa (16.70 mg m-2). The present study revealed, that the leaf dust accumulation decreased with increasing distance from the national highway. Leaf dust accumulation was influenced by the seasons of the year with the maximum (30.70) in pre-monsoon and the minimum(21.42) in post-monsoon season. Article History