Hemarthria compressa—Aspergillus niger—Trichoderma pseudokoningii Mediated Trilateral Perspective for Bioremediation and Detoxification of Industrial Paper Sludge

The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of different fungal species on the metal uptake from paper sludge by Hemarthria compressa L. Paper sludge (PS) in various concentrations (0, 30% and 60%) were used with four treatments of two fungal species (F0 = Control, F1 = Aspergillus niger, F2 = Trichoderma pseudokoningii, F3 = A. niger + T. pseudokoningii). Paper sludge as rooting medium steadily influenced growth and physio-biochemical attributes of H. compressa in F0. Results revealed discrete variations in growth attributes with different PS concentrations and each fungal treatment. The maximum damages in ionic homeostasis (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) due to PS toxicity were evident in parallel with declined chlorophyll concentration. The highest growth, total chlorophyll and biomass of the plants were observed when PS was treated with combined fungal strains (F3). Translocation factor decreased with F3 that is indicative of changes in Cd, Pb, and Cu movement to shoot from root. The plants with combined fungal treatment also showed greater catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activity. Ions, such as Ca, Mg, and Na, also increased gradually with combined fungal treatment. The correlation matrix displayed a close association among diverse fungal and PS levels with multiple plant attributes. PCA-Biplot confirmed the outcome of correlational analyses among different characters of H. compressa. The combined fungal mediate the extraction of heavy metals from the paper sludge by H. compressa recommends the high accumulation of heavy metal (HM) and possible reutilization of metal free sludge as a fertilizer, for application in cultivated fields. Furthermore, the effects of fungal species on HM attenuation in PS are linear and can be used in different habitats. Advancement in such research work will also be helpful in understanding the mechanisms and enhancing the ability of other native microbes to remediate metals.

Effects of Water Stresses on the Photosynthetic Characteristics of Hemarthria Compressa

The photosynthetic characteristic of plants may reflect the situation of growth and drought resistance. This study showed that drought affected significantly the Pn and Tr of Hemarthria compressa, the daily variation of Pn and Tr showed the “single peak” curve under different water condition, however, the change trend was totally opposite; the Gs and the Ci decreased with the increase of water stresses; the peak value of WUE of different water condition appeared before 10:00AM; the WUE decreased with the increase of Tr after 10:00AM. The WUE of different water stresses were higher than control before 12:00AM, however, less than control during 12:00 to 18:00. Hemarthria compressa generally tends to reduce the stomatal opening and transpiration in order to achieve high WUE under the water deficit, which belongs to strong drought resistance forage species.