TY - JOUR
T1 - Plant nutrient uptake and biomass accumulation in a constructed wetland
AU - Hoagland, Curtis R.
AU - Gentry, Lowell E.
AU - David, Mark B.
AU - Kovacic, David A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The work on which this paper is based was supported in part by funds provided by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior as authorized under the Water Resources Act of 1984. The contents of this paper do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute their endorsement by the U. S. Government. We thank Evan DeLucia for comments on the manuscript, Kate George for help with root studies, and Karen Starks for laboratory analysis.
PY - 2001/12
Y1 - 2001/12
N2 - We examined the role of plants in the nutrient cycle of a 0.3 ha constructed wetland that received tile drainage water from agricultural fields. The objectives were to determine: 1) above- and below-ground production of wetland macrophytes; 2) production of algae; 3) accumulation and uptake rate of N and P by vegetation during the growing season; and, 4) role of wetland vegetation in the overall N and P budgets. Total biomass ranged seasonally from 12000 to 30000 kg ha-1 in the wetland, reaching a maximum in September, with roots accounting for 54 to 77% of the total. Above-ground macrophyte biomass ranged from 2000 to 5700 kg ha-1, and also reached a maximum in September. Algae were only present early in the growing season and had a maximum biomass of 233 kg ha-1 at the end of May. During the 1998 water year, tile input transported 715 kg ha-1 total N and 10 kg ha-1 total P into the wetland, whereas wetland output was 256 kg total N ha-1 (256 kg ha-1 in outlet flow and 120 kg ha-1 in seepage) and 7.3 kg total P ha-1 Therefore, the wetland removal efficiencies for N and P were 47 and 29%, respectively. Total N and P in biomass reached maxima of 367 and 57 kg ha-1 respectively, with below-ground biomass accounting for most of the N and P found in plants. Although the N accumulation by wetland plants was equal to the difference between the wetland input and output for N, most of the plant growth occurred after tile flow ceased. Plant removal of N and P from the water column was likely a small component of the overall effectiveness of the wetland due to the lack of synchronization between plant growth and tile flow.
AB - We examined the role of plants in the nutrient cycle of a 0.3 ha constructed wetland that received tile drainage water from agricultural fields. The objectives were to determine: 1) above- and below-ground production of wetland macrophytes; 2) production of algae; 3) accumulation and uptake rate of N and P by vegetation during the growing season; and, 4) role of wetland vegetation in the overall N and P budgets. Total biomass ranged seasonally from 12000 to 30000 kg ha-1 in the wetland, reaching a maximum in September, with roots accounting for 54 to 77% of the total. Above-ground macrophyte biomass ranged from 2000 to 5700 kg ha-1, and also reached a maximum in September. Algae were only present early in the growing season and had a maximum biomass of 233 kg ha-1 at the end of May. During the 1998 water year, tile input transported 715 kg ha-1 total N and 10 kg ha-1 total P into the wetland, whereas wetland output was 256 kg total N ha-1 (256 kg ha-1 in outlet flow and 120 kg ha-1 in seepage) and 7.3 kg total P ha-1 Therefore, the wetland removal efficiencies for N and P were 47 and 29%, respectively. Total N and P in biomass reached maxima of 367 and 57 kg ha-1 respectively, with below-ground biomass accounting for most of the N and P found in plants. Although the N accumulation by wetland plants was equal to the difference between the wetland input and output for N, most of the plant growth occurred after tile flow ceased. Plant removal of N and P from the water column was likely a small component of the overall effectiveness of the wetland due to the lack of synchronization between plant growth and tile flow.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035694424&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0035694424&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02705060.2001.9663844
DO - 10.1080/02705060.2001.9663844
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0035694424
VL - 16
SP - 527
EP - 540
JO - Journal of Freshwater Ecology
JF - Journal of Freshwater Ecology
SN - 0270-5060
IS - 4
ER -