Can Constructed Wetlands Reduce the Diffuse Phosphorus Loads to Eutrophic Water in Cold Temperate Regions?

Braskerud, B.C.; Tonderski, Karin; Wedding, Bengt; Bakke, Rune; Blankenberg, A.-G.B.; Ulén, Barbro; Koskiaho, Jari

doi:10.2134/jeq2004.0466

Cited by 108 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Others have suggested smaller, strategically placed features could play a key role (Braskerud et al ., 2005; Ockenden et al ., 2014). However, such work commonly focuses on anthropogenic features with associated construction and maintenance costs (Ockenden et al ., 2012).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

Puttock

Graham

Carless

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Beavers, primarily through the building of dams, can deliver significant geomorphic modifications and result in changes to nutrient and sediment fluxes. Research is required to understand the implications and possible benefits of widespread beaver reintroduction across Europe. This study surveyed sediment depth, extent and carbon/nitrogen content in a sequence of beaver pond and dam structures in South West England, where a pair of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) were introduced to a controlled 1.8 ha site in 2011. Results showed that the 13 beaver ponds subsequently created hold a total of 101.53 ± 16.24 t of sediment, equating to a normalised average of 71.40 ± 39.65 kg m2. The ponds also hold 15.90 ± 2.50 t of carbon and 0.91 ± 0.15 t of nitrogen within the accumulated pond sediment.The size of beaver pond appeared to be the main control over sediment storage, with larger ponds holding a greater mass of sediment per unit area. Furthermore, position within the site appeared to play a role with the upper‐middle ponds, nearest to the intensively‐farmed headwaters of the catchment, holding a greater amount of sediment. Carbon and nitrogen concentrations in ponds showed no clear trends, but were significantly higher than in stream bed sediment upstream of the site.We estimate that >70% of sediment in the ponds is sourced from the intensively managed grassland catchment upstream, with the remainder from in situ redistribution by beaver activity. While further research is required into the long‐term storage and nutrient cycling within beaver ponds, results indicate that beaver ponds may help to mitigate the negative off‐site impacts of accelerated soil erosion and diffuse pollution from agriculturally dominated landscapes such as the intensively managed grassland in this study. © 2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

Puttock

Graham

Carless

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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“…Dividing the volume treated (27, Overall, the performance of the IESF in this study (63.9% phosphate and 66.3% total phosphorus load reduction) is comparable to other agricultural treatment practices and studies of IESFs. The IESF captures more phosphorus than constructed wetlands, for both total phosphorus (2-44%, [10][11][12][13][14]) and phosphate (9%, [12]), though the data falls within the upper range reported for a study of 17 intensively studied constructed wetlands (TP = 1-88%; DRP = −19 to 89%, [15]). Laboratory experiments of IESFs in previous studies found an average of 88% phosphate capture with a total treated depth of 200 m [18].…”

Section: Hydraulic and Phosphate Loading Ratementioning

confidence: 45%

“…By comparison, ten Discovery Farms Minnesota (DFM) sites reported total phosphorus loads for the entire 2016 water year ranging from 11.2 to 157 g/ha for The total phosphorus load reduction for each event varied from 42% to 95% with an overall total phosphorus load reduction of 66.3% ± 6.7% (α = 0.05, n = 20). A substantial portion of the influent total phosphorus load (323.6 g, 25%) was contributed by two events: 19 August 2016 (178.3 g) and 15 September 2016 (145.3 g), as shown in Figure 4. These two events contributed approximately 17.8% of the rainfall-induced tile drainage in 2016.…”

Section: Total Phosphorusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphate Removal from Agricultural Tile Drainage with Iron Enhanced Sand

Erickson

Gulliver

Weiss

2017

Water

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Can iron enhanced sand filtration capture total phosphorus and soluble phosphorus (phosphate) from agricultural tile drainage? A monitoring study measured the total phosphorus and phosphate capture performance of an iron enhanced sand filter (IESF) installed to treat agricultural tile drainage in Wright County, MT, USA. Overall, for natural rainfall-induced tile drainage events monitored between June and November 2015 and again in 2016, the IESF captured 66% ± 7% (α = 0.05, n = 21) of the influent total phosphorus mass and 64% ± 8% (α = 0.05, n = 31) of the influent phosphate mass. Removal of total phosphorus and phosphate was approximately uniform for large and small rainfall-induced tile drainage events and varied from 42% to 95% for total phosphorus and 9% to 87% for phosphate. The IESF treated 290 m of treated depth since installation, and results indicate that performance is similar or better than constructed wetlands or other IESFs, though not as good as laboratory experiments of IESFs. Routine and non-routine maintenance was performed throughout the project to ensure adequate phosphorus capture and flow rate through the IESF.

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“…Through an empirical study, Kovacic et al (2006) determined that if 5% of the Lake Bloomington Watershed (1,112 acres) was converted to constructed wetlands at a cost of $1,500/acre/year (assuming a 50-year operational lifetime and neglecting the cost of land), nitrogen loadings at the watershed outlet would be reduced by 46%.Other studies have also indicated that wetlands make significant improvements in water quality. According to a survey of 17 sites in North America and Northern Europe done by Braskerud et al (2005), constructed wetlands were capable of up to an 89% removal rate for nitrogen. In Illinois, a 37% reduction in total nitrogen was estimated by Kovacic et al (2000) at three sites treating tile drainage water; while a mass percent removal of 39-99% of nitrate was reported by Hey et al (1994) treating stream water from the Des Plaines River.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation and Optimization of a Constructed Wetland for Biomass Production and Nitrate Removal

Zygas

Eheart

Cai

2014

J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage.

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Recently there is growing concern about high nutrient loadings in surface waters as a result of intensive agriculture, resulting in hypoxia in costal ecosystems. There is simultaneous growing interest in the cultivation of perennial grasses for bio-ethanol production. Constructed wetlands offer a promising nutrient removal mechanism while also providing an ideal environment for the growth of such grasses. In the present work, a hypothetical wetland system is designed to treat non-point source nutrient loadings and produce harvestable biomass for ethanol production in central Illinois. Through the integration of a biomass production model, a nutrient removal model and a cost model, the relationship between the costs of wetland construction, benefits from biomass sales, and mass nutrient removal can be seen for various wetland sizes and water throughput capacities. Using genetic algorithms, the Pareto-optimal frontier showing the tradeoff between nutrient removal and the net cost of the wetland system, (accounting for revenue from biomass harvest) can be visualized.This analysis is demonstrated for a hypothetical wetland site near Camargo, Illinois which is assumed to draw water from the Embarras River. Through the simulation of several cost scenarios, the wetland is found to show a profit only when construction, operation and maintenance costs are excluded from the analysis. Results show a tradeoff between the amount of nitrate removed in the wetland via denitrification and biomass production For the example case, a 33.8 ha wetland with a 2.3 m 3 /s design pumping capacity was found to have the maximum cost efficiency with a cost of 4.8 $/kg of NO 3 -N removed. The results indicate that there is a unique efficiency-maximizing design for a wetland at a particular site. These results also indicate that a subsidy of at least 4.8 $/kg of NO 3 -N removed is necessary (assuming the biomass is sold for $58/ton) in order for a wetland at the hypothetical site to break even. Furthermore, if a market for nitrogen exists or if nutrient trading between point dischargers is allowed, it might be possible for a constructed wetland designed for biomass production to be profitable while providing water quality benefits.iii ACKOWLEDGEMENTS Many thanks to my co-advisers Wayland Eheart and Ximing Cai for their unwavering support, key insights, and patience.

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Can Constructed Wetlands Reduce the Diffuse Phosphorus Loads to Eutrophic Water in Cold Temperate Regions?

Cited by 108 publications

References 31 publications

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

Phosphate Removal from Agricultural Tile Drainage with Iron Enhanced Sand

Simulation and Optimization of a Constructed Wetland for Biomass Production and Nitrate Removal

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