The usage of bioindicators for assessment of the atmospheric air state in the area of the activity of Dobrotvirska Thermal Power Station (TPS)

Abstract

The methodological aspects of the research of the atmospheric air state have been studied, the attention has been paid to biological methods, in particular, to the method of indicating the area of leaf blades, which is easy to use and allows getting reliable results. Taking into account the informative value of the morphometric parameters of the warty birch leaves and the sensitivity of the species to environmental pollution, it is promising to use this species of tree plants as a bioindicator when assessing the ecological status of an urbanized and anthropogenic-transformed environment. The integral index of warty birch leaves asymmetry in the territory with a minimum air pollution was the lowest – 0.0258. The maximum value (0.0914) was investigated in the territory of the “Dobrotvirska Thermal Power Station”, which indicates extremely unfavorable conditions; therefore the plants are in a very depressed state. The average integral index of the fluctuating asymmetry for the warty birch in the region of our studies is 0.0586, which suggests an approximation of the ecological state to pre-critical level. The comparative analysis of the morphometric parameters of the warty birch leaves discovered their uneven resistance to environmental pollution, which manifests itself by decreasing the size, area and biomass (cell material) of the leaves, as well as by increasing the degree of their necrotic damage.