Abstract
The role of woody perennials in the Ganga river basin in modifying the run-off quality as influenced by atmospheric deposition of pollutant aerosols was investigated. The concentration of seven nutrients and eight metals were measured in atmospheric deposits as well as in run-off water under the influence of five woody perennials. Nutrient retention was recorded maximum for Bougainvillea spectabilis ranged from 4.30 % to 33.70 %. Metal retention was recorded highest for Ficus benghalensis ranged from 5.15 % to 36.98 %. Although some species showed nutrient enrichment, all the species considered in the study invariably contribute to reduce nutrients and metal concentration in run-off water. Reduction in run off was recorded maximum for B. spectabilis (nutrient 6.48 %–40.66 %; metal 7.86 %–22.85 %) and minimum for Ficus religiosa (nutrient 1.68 %–27.19 %; metal 6.55 %–31.55 %). The study forms the first report on the use of woody perennials in reducing input of atmospheric pollutants to Ganga river and has relevance in formulating strategies for river basin management.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aber JD, Nadelhoffer KJ, Steudler P, Melillo JM (1989) Nitrogen saturation in northern forest ecosystems. Bioscience 39:378–386
Allen SE, Grimshaw HM, Rowland AP (1986) Chemical analysis. In: Moore PD, Chapman SB (eds) Methods in plant ecology. Blackwell, Oxford, pp 285–344
Cole DW (1991) Nitrogen uptake and translocation by forest ecosystems. In: Reichle DE (ed) Terrestrial nitrogen cycle. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 341–409
Friedland AJ, Miller EK (1999) Major elemental cycling in a high elevation Adirondack forest: Patterns and changes, 1986–1996. Ecol Appl 9:958–967
Khillare PS, Balachandran S, Meena BR (2004) Spatial and temporal variation of heavy metals in atmospheric aerosol of Delhi. Environ Monitor Assess 90:1–21
Liu W, Fox JED, Xu Z (2002) Nutrient fluxes in bulk precipitation, throughfall and stream flow in montane subtropical moist forest on Ailao Mountains in Yunnan, south-west China. J Trop Ecol 18:527–548
Miller EK, Panek JA, Friedlnd AJ, Kadlecek J, Mohnen VA (1993) Atmospheric deposition to a high elevation forest at Whiteface mountain, New York, USA. Tellus 45:209–227
O’Neill GJ, Gordon AM (1994) The nitrogen filtering capacity of Corolina poplar in an artificially riparian zone. J Environ Qual 23:1218–1223
Pandey J, Agrawal M (1994) Evaluation of air pollution phytotoxicity n a seasonally dry tropical urban environment using three woody perennials. New Phytol 126:53–61
Pandey U, Pandey J (2005) The influence of catchment modifications on two fresh water lakes of Udaipur. In: Bhatia KKS, Khobragade SD (eds) Urban lakes in India: conservation, management and rejuvenation (Part-I). National Institute Hydrology, Roorkee, pp 256–262
Pandey J, Pandey U (2009) Microbial processes at the land–water interface, and cross-domain causal relationships, as influenced by atmospheric deposition of pollutants in three freshwater lakes in India, Lakes Reservoirs. Res Manage 14:71–84
Pandey J, Pandey R, Shubhashish K (2009a) Air-borne heavy metal contamination to dietary vegetables: a case study from India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 83(6):931–936
Pandey J, Shubhashish K, Pandey R (2009b) Metal contamination to Ganga river (India) as influenced by atmospheric deposition. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 83:204–209
Pandey R, Shubhashish K, Pandey J (2012) Dietary intake of pollutant aerosols via vegetables influenced by atmospheric deposition and wastewater irrigation. Ecotoxicol Environ Safety 76:200–208
Potter CS, Ragsdale HL, Swank WT (1991) Atmospheric deposition and foliar leaching in a regenerating southern Appalachian forest canopy. J Ecol 79:97–115
Rao PPS, Momin GA, Safai PD, Pillai AG, Khemani LT (1995) Rain water and throughfall chemistry in the Silent Valley forest in South India. Atmos Environ 29:2025–2027
Sickman JO, Clow D, Melack JM (2003) Evidence for nutrient enrichment of high—elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada, California. Limnol Oceanogr 48:1885–1892
Singer A, Ganor E, Fried M, Shamay Y (1996) Throughfall deposition of sulfur to a mixed Oak and Pine forest in Israel. Atmos Environ 30:3881–3889
Singh RK, Agrawal M (2005) Atmospheric deposition around a heavy industrialized area in a seasonally dry tropical environment of India. Environ Pollut 138:142–152
Swank WT (1984) Atmospheric contributions to forest nutrient cycling. Water Resour Bull 20:313–321
Tabacchi E, Lambs L, Guilloy H, Tabacchi AP, Muller E, Decamps H (2000) Impacts of riparian vegetation on hydrological processes. Hydrol Process 14:2959–2976
Zimmermann S, Broun S, Conedera M, Blaser P (2002) Macronutrient inputs by litterfall as apposed to atmospheric deposition into two contrasting chestnut forest stands in southern Switzerland. For Eco Manag 161:289–302
Acknowledgments
We thank Coordinator, Centre of Advanced Study in Botany, Banaras Hindu University for laboratory facilities. One of the authors (K. Shubhashish) is grateful to University Grants Commission, New Delhi for financial support in the form of JRF and SRF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shubhashish, K., Pandey, R. & Pandey, J. The Role of Catchment Vegetation in Reducing Atmospheric Inputs of Pollutant Aerosols in Ganga River. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 89, 362–367 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0651-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0651-6