**5. Conclusions**

The present study evaluated the potential of *P. australis* in FTWs along with three inoculated bacterial strains to remove dye as well as organic and inorganic pollutants from dye-enriched water. The results clearly indicated that *P. australis* along with inoculated strains have a grea<sup>t</sup> potential to remove di fferent types of dyes and pollutants, including potentially toxic metals, from textile e ffluent. The floating wetlands are capable of e fficiently decreasing the levels of pH, EC, TDS, TSS, BOD, COD, color and toxic metals from dye-polluted wastewater. The high rate of pollutants removal by vegetated-inoculated FTWs validates the potential role of bacteria in FTWs. The bacteria showed high persistence in water as well as in the roots and shoots of the inoculated plants. It suggests that bacteria have the ability to make a mutualistic relationship with *P. australis* in FTWs system to collectively remove pollutants form the water body. These plant growth-promoting rhizospheric and endophytic bacteria also increased the plants' ability to tolerate pollutant-induced toxicity and alleviate the toxicity of textile e ffluent. We conclude that the FTWs can be a promising technology to treat textile e ffluent and can be a propitious substitute for conventional wastewater technology for the treatment of textile effluent. The pollutant removal e fficiency of already existing water retention ponds can be enhanced by installing floating wetland systems. However, there is a need for conducting meticulous research about the careful and objective-based selection of plants and bacteria, which can further enhance the efficiency of the FTWs system.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, N.N., S.A., G.S., M.A. (Muhammad Afzal), M.A. (Muhammad Arslan) and M.N.A.; Data curation, N.N. and G.S.; Formal analysis, N.N., M.R. and M.J.S.; Funding acquisition, A.H. and P.A.; Investigation, S.A., M.A. (Muhammad Arslan) and P.A.; Methodology, N.N., G.S., M.B.S., M.J.S., M.A. (Muhammad Afzal) and A.H.; Project administration, S.A., M.R. and M.A. (Muhammad Afzal); Resources, A.H., M.N.A., E.F.A., A.H. and P.A.; Software, E.F.A., G.S. and M.B.S.; Supervision, S.A., M.R., M.B.S., M.A. (Muhammad Afzal) and A.H.; Validation, M.J.S. and A.H.; Writing—Original draft, N.N., A.H. and P.A.; Writing—Review and editing, S.A., M.A. (Muhammad Arslan), A.H., M.N.A. and P.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research was supported by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (grant number 20-3854/R&D/HEC/14). The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP-2019/116), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors would like to appreciate the Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan for support. The authors would like to extend their sincere appreciation to the Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP-2019/116), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
