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ANALYSIS OF MINES AND CONTAMINATED AGRICULTURAL SOIL SAMPLES FOR FUNGAL DIVERSITY AND TOLERANCE TO HEAVY METALS

SHAZIA IRAM¹, IFTIKHAR AHMAD² AND DORIS STUBEN³

Abstract: In the present investigation soil samples were collected from peri-urban agricultural soils irrigated by industrial and sewerage waste of Hudiara drain, Lahore, Pakistan and mine waste of Wiesloch, Germany for the analysis of fungal diversity and tolerance to heavy metals. Heavy metals analysis was done by X-ray florescence and ICP-MS. X-ray florescence showed that Zn, As and Pb concentration was higher in waste mine soil sample of Wiesloch, Germany. ICP-MS appeared to be more sensitive and showed that Fe, Mn, Cu, As, Sr, Mo, Cd, Sb, Ti, Zn and Pb were present in higher concentration in waste mine of Germany. Soils of peri-urban areas of Pakistan had lower concentration of heavy metals as compared to waste mine of Wiesloch, Germany. Diversity and frequency of fungi was analyzed using soil dilution method. Overall frequency percentage and diversity was higher in Pakistan soil than soil of Wiesloch, Germany. Different fungi viz., Acremonium sp., Alternaria sp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus sp., Aspergillus nodulans, Aureobasidium sp., Chaetomium sp., Coniothyrium sp., Curvularia sp., Fusarium sp., Humicola sp., Monilia sp., Monocillium sp., Mortierella sp., were isolated. Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus nodulans were selected and checked for tolerance to toxic metals (CdCl₂, CuSO₄, NiCl₂ and ZnCl₂) at different concentrations (1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 ppm) by the measurement of radial growth. All the tested fungi showed tolerance to ZnCl₂ (25ppm) and NiCl₂ (12ppm) but no tolerance against CdCl₂ and CuSO₄.

¹Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

²National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad, Pakistan

³Institute of Mineralogy and Geochemistry, Forschungszentrum Umwelt (FZU)

University of Karlsruhe, Germany.