摘要：Industrialization has provided humanity with materials and social benefits. It has also brought in itswake up many unwanted substances and social problems. One of these problems is the degradationof the environment. The environment, upon which our life is most dependent, has fallen victim ofpollution brought by the man himself through unplanned and unscientific development and mineralexploitation. Air pollution is an inevitable harmful by-product of rapid industrialization and urbanizationthat is responsible for a variety of deleterious effects on both human and plant communities. It hasbeen a major environmental concern since the beginning of industrialization, resulting in a release ofgaseous and particulate pollutants into the atmosphere. A relationship between traffic density andphotosynthetic activity, stomatal conductance, total chlorophyll content and leaf senescence hasbeen reported. Exposure of evergreen plants to air pollutants create many changes in physiologicaland biochemical parameters. Each plant species has a different ability to absorb and adsorb pollutantsby their foliar surfaces, which is influenced by several biochemical, physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics. Rampant and uncontrolled use of fossil fuels in industries and transport sector has ledto an increase in concentrations of the gaseous pollutants. Indian cities are facing serious problems ofairborne particulate matter. Atmospheric particulate matter, which is a mixture of diverse elements, isof most concern in context of public health. Particulates may also cause a reduction in yield, changein photosynthesis and transpiration along with foliar injuries. The plant species which accumulatemore dust onto their surfaces can act as buffer around industries and along roadsides. The presentstudy deals with the plant-pollutant interactions and how the physical and chemical characteristics ofplants vary with air pollution. It also throws light on how dust affects various plant species and whatis the role of plants in dust accumulation.
