Abstract
The solid waste dumpsites of pulp and paper industries are prone to be turned into degraded lands due to the loss of vegetation cover. Such sites often possess drought, salinity and pH stresses as well as heavy metal contamination. Restoration of top soil by creating vegetation cover has proved to be the most sustainable approach to check land degradation. Therefore, to find some stress-tolerant species capable of creating vegetation cover in paper mill dumpsites, a vegetation composition study was conducted in a paper mill dumpsite. A total of seven plant species viz., Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand., Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King & H. Rob, Mikania scandens (L.) Willd., R. communis L., Rotheca serrata (L.) Steane & Mabb., Senna sophera (L.) Roxb. and Solanum myriacanthum Dunal were found. To correlate the existence of these plants with stress condition of soil, the level of phytotoxicity in the dumpsite was assessed by studying seed germination status, proline accumulation, leaf relative water content (RWC), leaf pH, total chlorophyll content and ascorbic acid level of Ricinus communis as bioassay indices. The significantly lower percentage of seed germination in dumpsite soil, compared to control, revealed the phytotoxic nature of the soil of the dumpsite. The significantly higher level of proline, RWC, total chlorophyll and ascorbic acid in plant leaves from dumpsites than from the control soils indicated considerable stress in the dumpsite. Soil physicochemical and nutrient status analyses substantiated with the bioassay results. Despite apparent phytotoxicity, the presence of certain plant species in the dumpsite indicated their inherent stress tolerance capability to be prospected.
Highlights
Pulp and paper industries are among the most notorious environment degraders which discharge a variety of gaseous, liquid and solid wastes, including non-biodegradable organic materials, absorbable organic halogens, colour, phenolic compounds etc. into the environment [1]
To correlate the existence of these plants with stress condition of soil, the level of phytotoxicity in the dumpsite was assessed by studying seed germination status, proline accumulation, leaf relative water content (RWC), leaf pH, total chlorophyll content and ascorbic acid level of Ricinus communis as bioassay indices
A total of seven plant species were found in the dumpsite, which included Calotropis gigantea (L.) Dryand., Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M
Summary
Pulp and paper industries are among the most notorious environment degraders which discharge a variety of gaseous, liquid and solid wastes, including non-biodegradable organic materials, absorbable organic halogens, colour, phenolic compounds etc. into the environment [1]. Despite adverse physicochemical and biological properties of soil, some plant species can survive in the stressful condition of industrial and mining dumpsite with little agronomical effort Information about such naturally growing plant species on degraded sites is crucial to create vegetation cover successfully on the dumpsites. (Euphorbiaceae) grows abundantly in harsh environmental conditions like industrial waste contaminated sites, along the roadsides, rail tracks, open lands and disturbed areas with high tolerance [9]. This plant has been reported to be tolerant of different stresses like salinity, drought and frost [10]. Soil physicochemical properties and nutrition status of the dumpsite were investigated to corroborate with the bioassay findings to confirm the stress of the site compared to control
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