Evaluation of Pollution-Tolerant Plant Species Using APTI and API Approaches for Sustainable Campus Green Belt Planning

Urban vegetation is an important tool to help mitigate air pollutants in areas that are quickly being urbanized. This paper examined the Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) and anticipated performance index (API) of plant species at the VIIT campus. At this location there were 142 different types of plant species assessed on the basis of their foliage and ecological characteristics such as; size and density of their canopies, leaf shape, leaf size, hardness of the leaves, how well they adapted to each environment. API scores varied significantly from one type of plant species to another. Five species: Azadirachta indica, Borassus flabellifer, Dieffenbachia seguine, Tecoma capensis, and Allamanda schottii were identified as having high levels of both resistance to pollutants and ecological resiliency. Plants with dense canopies or thick waxy leaves have better efficiencies in collecting pollutants. The study demonstrates the use of APTI and API will be important tools in developing sustainable green belts & in managing urban environments.