Biomonitoring of heavy metals by pollen in urban environment

Abstract Industrial development and consumption of petroleum products leads to increase air pollution levels especially in urban and industrial areas. Heavy metal components associated with air pollutants have far reaching effects with respect to economic and ecological importance of pollens. The pollens are male reproductive organs of the plant and travel through air from flower to flower for pollination purpose. During this period they are exposed to air pollutants. Present investigation thus pertains to study of effect of air pollutants on pollens especially biosorption and bioaccumulation of heavy metals. The pollens of three commonly occurring plants namely Cassia siamea, Cyperus rotundus, Kigelia pinnata have been studied from the NH-6 of Nagpur city, India. The pollens exposed to polluted air showed the presence of higher concentrations of Ca, Al and Fe as compared to unexposed pollens. Higher concentration of these metals was observed in Cyperus rotundus followed by Cassia siamea and Kigelia pinnata. These results indicate that pollens act as good indicator of air pollution giving results in short time of exposure of 5–10 h. Apart from this, it is also reported that some of these metals play crucial role in the metabolic activity in pollens for example Calcium is necessary for growth of pollen tube and other metabolic activities in pollens. The presence of these metals in pollens may also enhance the allergenicity of the pollens. Similarly accumulation of heavy metals may also deteriorate the quality of pollen for their economical use. The viability of pollen is also affected by these pollutants in sensitive species leading to impairment of their fertility.     

Diversity of birds at Panipat refinery, Haryana (India)

Avifaunal study was carried out in Panipat refinery area before and after commissioning. A total of 63 birds were observed during the study, of which 39 and 49 birds were present during 1992 and 2001 respectively. Of these, 25 birds were common during both the study period. Blue rock pigeon was most dominant during 1992 whereas house sparrow was dominant during 2001. Species diversity index was found to be 5.26 and 6.64 in respective years. Jaccard's and Sorenson similarity indices were 0.40 and 0.57 respectively. Majority of birds were insectivorous in habits followed by granivorous birds in 1992 and piscivorous birds in 2001. The study reveals that less diversity was observed in 1992 when Panipat refinery was commissioned, but more birds especially aquatic ones were observed after the commissioning of the refinery. This has been attributed to increase in birds habitats due to developments of wetlands in and outside refinery, development of green belt around refinery and increase in green cover of area due to boosting of agroforestry and social forestry.     

Assessment of dietary intakes of nineteen pesticide residues among five socioeconomic sections of Hyderabad—a total diet study approach

Total diet study approach was used to assess the dietary intakes of pesticide residues among the select population in Hyderabad. When assessed by a food frequency questionnaire, it was found that the food intakes varied among five socioeconomic sections (SES). Therefore, we intended to compare the intakes of pesticide residues through these foods among the five SES. A total of 195 foods from different markets were collected and analyzed for 19 pesticides. The residues were analyzed with a gas chromatograph and were confirmed with mass spectrometry. About 51 % of the samples were detected with one or more residues. Thirteen out of the 19 residues were present in levels above detection limits in various concentrations. The median concentrations of the residues in all the samples tested, ranged from 0.00010 to 0.33 mg/kg. Highest median concentration was for β-HCH in water samples. Exposures to all the residues were below the respective ADIs at both mean and 95th percentile levels of food intakes with highest estimated dietary intakes (EDIs) of β-HCH in both the cases. The EDIs of β-HCH were the highest among all the residues at both the intake levels among all the SES. The EDIs of β-HCH were significantly higher in lower SES than higher SES possibly due to the consumption of rice cooked in water contaminated with β-HCH. EDIs for other residues did not differ significantly among the five SES.     

Monitoring of environmental parameters for CO2 sequestration: a case study of Nagpur City, India

The use of native plants was examined in three rural communities in the semi-arid of the state of Pernambuco, in northeastern Brazil. The techniques employed in the present study combined a number of different techniques of data-gathering, including semi-structured interviews, guided tour, key-informants, and participating observation, and sampling of the vegetation to evaluate the biodiversity of useful plants. A total of 61 woody species were cataloged, mostly used for construction purposes or fuel. Among the species that stood out for their local importance and multiplicity of uses were: Myracrodruon urundeuva (Engl.) Fr. All., Schinopsis brasiliensis Engl., and Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan. The first two species are included in Brazilian lists of threatened species. Arguments are presented for strategies of management and conservation of plant resources in the semi-arid region that seek alternatives to the use of timber species and the development of alternative non-timber resources.