--Select Category-- Sulphurdioxide Ozone Bioremediation Fluoride Pesticides Radionuclides Organic Compounds Greenhouse Gases Industrial Effluents Metal/Metalloid Nitrogen oxides Particulates Acid Rain Ozone Depletion

A wide range of chemical constituent enter the air, water and soil due to human activities resulting in the elevation of their concentrations above the background. A number of physiochemical methods are available to measure the concentration of specific contaminants. Biological systems are regarded as best system for monitoring the quality of environment, they show an integrated response to contamination and other changing environmental factors. Among various organism, plants serve as an effective indicator of air, water and soil pollution because of following characteristics:

1. Their sensitivity to some contaminants may lead to visible injury, which can indicate the presence of elevated  concentration in the environment.

2. In some cases, tolerance to high concentration can be utilized in identifying contamination through chemical  analysis   of tissues.

3. They have been used to relate dose of the pollutant to response of the receptor.

4. They have been used to delineate the spatial and temporal distribution of the pollutant.

5. Plants have been used to measure pollutant accumulation (like metals, organic, gaseous contaminants and  radionucleides).