Detrimental effects of Road dust on plants and its environmental impacts

Paper Details

Research Paper 01/01/2020
Views (1024)
current_issue_feature_image
publication_file

Detrimental effects of Road dust on plants and its environmental impacts

Allah Nawaz Khan, Farzana Rafiq, Muhammad Asif Akram, Muhammad Sufyan, Naila Fida Hussain, Muhammad Tayyab Shaheen, Shazia Iqbal, Sobia Sohail, Hafiz Muhammad Shahbaz
Int. J. Biosci. 16(1), 162-167, January 2020.
Copyright Statement: Copyright 2020; The Author(s).
License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Abstract

Present study was conducted to investigate the Road dust effects on plant communities along with bad impact on our environment. Plants are important source of oxygen and they maintain the natural ecosystem. Plants communities along the roads are important for the beauty and they play key role for environment. Dust due to road traffic is big issue in many countries of the word especially where annual rainfall is low. Plants clean the environment on the road by capturing road dust that comes with wind or by road traffic but in this case they are partially or completely occupied by road dust that produces serious injuries like reduce in size, leaf falling and their stomata don’t function properly and hence loss in transpiration and plant may die. Road dust contains many heavy metals due to road traffic and their deposition on plants is alarming. Study surveys were conducted on the Main Mianwali Banu Road during May 2018 to June 2019 a total 100 plant species were recorded consist of Tree 40%, Shrubs 10% Herbs 30% and 20% grasses and it was concluded that leaves having more capacity to hold dust were greatly affected by road dust following stem, flower and branches.

Ahmad F, Khan MA, Ahmad M, Zafar M, Mahmood T, Jabeen A, Marwat SK. 2010 Ethnomedicinal uses of grasses in the Salt Range Region of Northern Pakistan.  Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 4(5), 362-369.

Ali SI. 2008.Significance of flora with special reference to Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Botany 40(3), 967-971.

Bagnold RA. 1941. The physics of blown sand and desert dunes. London, UK: Chapman and Hall Ltd.

Czaja AT. 1960. Die Wirkung von verstäubtem Kalk und Zement auf Pflanzen. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition (Formerly Qualitas Plantarum), 7(2), 184-212.

Darley EF. 1966. Studies on the effect of cement-kiln dust on vegetation. Journal of the air pollution control association, 16(3), 145-150.

Duggar BM, Cooley JS. 1914. The effect of surface films and dusts on the rate of transpiration. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden  1, 1-22.

Everett KR. 1980. Distribution and properties of road dust along the northern portion of the Haul Road. Environmental engineering and ecological baseline investigations along the Yukon River-Purdhoe Bay Haul Road (CRREL Report 80–19). US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. Hanover, New Hampshire, 101-128.

Farmer AM. 1993. The effects of dust on vegetation—a review. Environmental pollution 79(1), 63-75.

Fennelly PF. 1975. Primary and secondary particulates as pollutants. A literature review. J. Air Pollution Control Association. (United States) 25(7), 697-704.

Gilson JC. 1970. Occupational bronchitis? Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine 63, 857-864.

Nasir E, Ali SI. 1970-2003. Flora of Pakistan (fasicles series 1-202). Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Pakistan.

Peirce GJ. 1909. The possible effect of cement dust on plants. Science 30(775), 652-654.

Roberts JW, Watters HA, Mangold CA,  Rossano AT. 1975. Cost and benefits of road dust control in Seattle’s industrial valley. Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association 25(9), 948-952.

Related Articles

Intra-population genetic diversity modeling of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) population in Niger

Adamou Ibrahim Maman Laouali*, Zango Oumarou, Alio Moussa Abdourazak, Rafiou Abdoulaye, Idi Saidou Sani, Idi Garba Nana Mariama, Bakasso Yacoubou, Int. J. Biosci. 29(3), 62-70, September 2026.

Biocontrol potential of indigenous Trichoderma isolates against Fusarium wilt of cotton in Tanzania: In vitro screening and screen-house validation

Fauzia Khalid Mpiganzila*, Alfonce Leonard, Lidia Munuo, Ernest Mbega, Agatha Aloyce, Int. J. Biosci. 29(3), 44-61, September 2026.

In vitro study of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antihyperglycemic activity of medicinal plants

T. K. Nishath*, P. Mathavi, V. Ambikapathy, P. Prakash, A. Panneerselvam, Int. J. Biosci. 29(3), 32-43, September 2026.

Association between the IL13 rs1800925 (-1112C/T) polymorphism and Schistosoma mansoni infection intensity in a population from western Côte d’Ivoire

Bernardin Ahouty Ahouty*, Abla Edwige Sokouri, Georges Bohoussou Kassi, Innocent Allépo Abé, Martial Kassi N’djetchi, Yaya Ouangbo Ouattara, Ornella Karmelle Lydia Dago, Mathurin Yao Koffi, Thomas Konan Konan, Mathurin N’Goran Koffi, Int. J. Biosci. 29(3), 20-31, September 2026.

Abattoir-based surveillance reveals geographic clustering and risk factors for bovine tuberculosis in Tanzania

Yohana Siyajali Anatory*, Beatus Lyimo, Blandina T. Mmbaga, Joram Buza, Int. J. Biosci. 29(3), 11-19, September 2026.

In vitro assessment of the anticancer activity of quinaldic acid against human breast cancer cells (MCF-7)

N. Medhavi, S. M. Sivasankaran, K. Selvakumar, K. Harish, S. Manoharan*, Int. J. Biosci. 29(3), 1-10, September 2026.

In silico molecular docking analysis of quinaldic acid against cancer related targets

N. Medhavi, K. Harish, S. M. Sivasankaran, K. Selvakumar, B. Vidhyambigai, S. Manoharan*, Int. J. Biosci. 29(2), 129-139, August 2026.

First records of Macrogyrodactylus clarii and six species of Quadriacanthus (Monogenea) infecting Clarias gariepinus (Burchell, 1822) across four localities in Senegal

Arfang Diamanka*, Abdou Toure, Sikhou Drame, Cheikh Diop, Ngor Faye, Int. J. Biosci. 29(2), 118-128, August 2026.