Physico-Chemical Properties of Paper Mill Effluent and Its Ecological Impact on Local Flora

Enormous quantity of water is used for production of paper and accordingly huge amount of effluents are being generated, spread over surrounding environments with or without proper treatment. During present investigation an attempt was made to assess the physico-chemical properties of effluents discharged by Orion Paper Industries Limited situated at Village Dhenka of Bilaspur District, Chhattisgarh and to evaluate its ecological impact on local flora. Nineteen parameters of physico-chemical properties of effluent samples collected from different sites were assessed adopting the standard method. Plant communities of adjoining area thoroughly and seventeen species of herbaceous and shrubby plants were identified. The herbaceous vegetation, but floristically poor in species composition was observed. Evaluation of ecological impact of effluent revealed the less frequency of common species of the locality ie- Eclypta alba, Lippia nodiflora however, relative frequency of Croton spaciflorus, Asteranthus longifolia and Parthenium sp. were observed maximum. A significant correlation was observed between different plant communities and the effluents properties of the polluted drains. Croton spaciflorus, Asteranthus longifolia, Parthenium sp. , Cyanodon dactylon, Alternanthera sessilis, Echhornia crapssipes communities showed wide ecological amplitude and were found growing at diverse habitat conditions along the polluted disposal channels of the industrial sites.