Plants In The Tropic For Pollution Reduction

Indonesia is one of the world's most populous nations and a major producer of rice, cocoa, coffee and tobacco.

But the country is regularly at risk of drought caused by the El Nino phenomenon in which the eastern Pacific ocean heats up, with wet wetter moving toward the east and leaving drier weather in west around Southeast Asia and Australia.

I have been planting trees since 2003, such as mahagony, teak and fruits trees, at the curb in front of the house. This seems to be useful to deal with the drought in 2010 when El Nino would happen in Indonesia for a long period.

Trees and bushes have deep root systems to increases their chances of surviving for the drought. But, in addition to reducing the impact of drought, plants also offer many environmental benefits. Plants in the tropic can also serve as pollution reduction.

There are several specific types of plants (trees, shrubs and the other crops) can be planted in certain areas, such as industrial areas, residential areas and office areas. In parentheses is the name in Indonesian.

1. Pb (Plumbum) absorbent

*Switenia mahagoni (Mahoni)
*Tamarindus indica (Tamarind)
*Agathis alba (Damar )
*Cassia siamea (Johar )
*Myristica fatua (Nutmeg )


2. CO2 (Carbon dioxide) absorbent

* Codiaeum interuptum (Puring)
* Trifaciata-sanseviera laurenti (Lidah mertua)
* Aglaonema coctatum (Sri rejeki)
* Monsetra deliciosa
* Pandanus utilis (Pandan bali)
* Elephant grass (Rumput gajah)


5. Cement dust-absorbing and shading

* Filicium decipens (Kiara payung)
* Canarium commune (Walnuts / kenari)
* Dipterocarpaceae spp (Red meranti/ Meranti merah)
* Mimusops elengi (Tanjung)

6. Metal and contaminants (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Se, Hg)

* Heliantus annus (Sun Flowers/ Bunga matahari)
* Brassica juncea (Indian Mustard)
* Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass)
* Chrysanthemum morifolium (Chrysanthemum)

7. Noise drag

* Duranta repens (Teh-tehan)
* Ficus pumila (Ficus)
* Bambusa japonica (Japanese bamboo/ Bambu jepang)

8. Odor Absorbent

* Jasminum sambac (Jasmine)
* Gardenia


I have decided to plant Aglaonema coctatum and Filicium decipens in which the seedlings are not ready to be moved and planted in the field. I'm going to plant them in the rainy season.

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This post was written to get involved with this week's Change the World Wednesday Challenge, and listed what kind of plants have a "good thing" to reduce a certain pollution.

Last week's challenge, to refuse Styrofoam, and... here we are the honor society:

Connie Mishali at http://seewhykinsman.blogspot.com/2009/09/im-back-i-think.html

TC at http://stanford.wellsphere.com/green-living-article/change-the-world-wednesday-s-challenges/770640 and here http://livesmartbook.blogspot.com/2009/09/change-world-wednesdays-weekly.html and here http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/change-the-world

Kate at http://holdfastseeker.blogspot.com/

Yanic at http://greentobe.blogspot.com/2009/09/change-world-wednesday-challenge-say-no.html

Argentum Vulgaris at http://tomusarcanum.blogspot.com/2009/09/ctww-change-world-wednesday.html

Sober White Women at http://thoughtsofasoberwhitewomen.blogspot.com/2009/09/eco-friendly-friday-sheets.html

EcoGrrl at http://ecogrrlnetwork.blogspot.com/

Mike at http://www.gifterguide.com

Zephyr Girl at http://cycadelia.blogspot.com/

I am Agel at http://www.retaggr.com/page/TwitterOnlineSystem and here http://www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/change-the-world-wednesday-challenge

RecycleBill at http://recyclebills.squarespace.com/recycleblog/why-i-hate-styrofoam.html

Elizabeth Barrette at http://gaiatribe.geekuniversalis.com/2009/09/04/help-stamp-out-styrofoam/

Rewinn at http://rewinn.blogspot.com/2009/09/just-say-no-to-styro.html

Harri Pao at http://blogodril.blogspot.com/2009/09/styrofoam-food-packaging-is-it-cause.html

Millenniumhealth at http://millenniumhealth.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/change-the-world-wednesdays/