Use of Plants in Monitoring Air Quality

Berlin

1991

46 S.

Bandaufführung

14281

57593

Measurement of visible and invisible injuries in plants is not only a diagnostic tool for the evaluation and assessment of air pollution impacts itself, but also important since the recognition that human and environmental health are inextricably intertwined. Some of the common and easily applicable biological methods for measuring air pollutant impact on plants are presented. Covered are those methods for which standardized methodology is available and that can be used mostly without costly laboratory equipment or experience. These include lichen mapping, symptom evaluation and assessments, and the use of pine needles and grass cultures to be exposed and analyzed for the content of accumulated pollutants. Moreover, references to the literature are provided regarding more advanced methods that often require expensive equipment.