BIOINDICATION OF URBAN ENVIRONMENTAL STATE BASED ON LONDON PLANE TREE (PLATANUS × ACERIFOLIA) POLLEN ANALYSIS
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30970/sbi.2002.880
Abstract
Background. The qualitative characteristics of pollen of the London plane tree, Platanus × acerifolia (Ait.) Willd., were studied for bioindication of the state of the urbanized environment based on the indicators of fertility and viability of pollen grains.
Materials and Methods. Trees of the London plane, Platanus × acerifolia (Ait.) Willd., from Kyivska Street were selected as experimental plants. In the control variant, trees from a part of the Sofiyivka Park relatively isolated from technogenic load were used. Morphometric parameters of pollen, fertility and viability of mature pollen grains were analyzed using generally accepted methods. Statistical analysis of the obtained results was performed according to Ronald Fisher (Ronald Fisher, 2017) using Microsoft Office Excel 2007.
Results. According to the mean sizes of pollen grains (31.23 and 31.18 µm), the studied trees exhibited virtually no differences regardless of the place of growth. In both variants, fertility indicators were high (98.34 % – Kyivska Street and 96.55 % – Sofiyivka Park). However, in the variants of pollen germination in five- and ten-percent sucrose solutions, pollen from Kyivska Street was inferior in viability to pollen from the park by 19.36 and 20.00 %, respectively.
Conclusion. The significant variation in the percentage of germinated pollen grains from trees growing under different air pollution conditions in Uman supports the potential use of Platanus × acerifolia pollen germination levels in 5 % and 10 % sucrose solutions as an indicator for urban air quality assessment.
Keywords
Platanaceae Lindl., sexual dimorphism, dioecious plants, pollen grain viability, urban green spaces, urbanized environment
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