PJB-2018-22
ASSESSMENT OF LICHENS AS INDEX OF ATMOSPHERIC PURITY (IAP) AND BIOINDICATOR OF HEAVY METAL POLLUTION FROM MOTOR VEHICLES ACTIVITES IN ABBOTTABAD DISTRICT, PAKISTAN.
Summaira Shaheen
Abstract
Abstract Air pollution detection in Pakistan has not been done yet. In this work different lichen have been used as a bio indication to establish different air pollution levels. At 15 investigated points 92 lichen taxa have been found. Using the Index of Atmospheric Purity (IAP) it has been found that there are 3 different air pollution zones in Abbottabad District: “lichen desert”, “transitional” and “normal zone”. The most sensitive lichen taxa in Abbottabad District are Ochrolechia turneri and Parmelia sulcata, the most tolerant are Xanthoria parietina. Index of atmospheric purity (IAP), derived from number of species, frequency of occurrence, coverage, and sensitivity is found to be an efficient and cost effective method depicting long term stress effects on lichens. This is one of the most suitable biomonitoring tools for a developing country like Pakistan because it is effectively used in large scale air pollution monitoring programmer. To evaluate air quality in the Abbottabad District, we determined Index of Atmospheric Purity (IAP) and heavy metal detection in the lichens species reported from study area. Total 1330 tests were performed from 70 lichen species to detect 19 different heavy metals and ions (NH4+, Sb, As, Cl, Cr, Co, Cd, CN, I, Fe, Pb, MoO4, NO3, Ni, K, Rh, SCN−, Th and Zn.) that cause air pollution. The hot spots of heavy metals were associated with vehicle emissions.
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