Efficacy of a subsurface-flow wetland using the estuarine sedge Juncus kraussii to treat effluent from inland saline aquaculture

The potential of a salt-tolerant plant (Distichlis spicata cv. NyPa Forage) to treat effluent from inland saline aquaculture and provide livestock feed on salt-affected farmland

“…Cripps and Bergheim, 2000;Lin et al, 2002; Schultz et al,. 2003;Lymbery et al, 2006;Sindilariu et al, 2007Sindilariu et al, , 2009Zachritz et al, 2008;Webb et al, 2012), and they compare favourably with mechanical filters that typically remove 10 -43% of total nitrogen and 49 -63% of total phosphorus (Mäkinen et al, 1988;Lekang et al, 2000).The results from our study indicated that plants were a necessary component of wetland ecosystems for the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus. The role of plants in constructed wetlands is not fully understood.…”

“…Production methods vary from static pond to flow-through systems, with regular feeding of commercial trout pellets Lever et al, 2004). Uneaten food and fish excretion produce nutrient-enriched effluent and the off-farm disposal of this effluent into natural waterways or back to the water table is regarded by resource managers as the most important environmental impact from inland saline aquaculture in Western Australia (Starcevich et al, 2003).Sub-surface flow wetlands offer a potentially simple and low cost technology for the treatment of nutrient-rich aquaculture effluent, because they exploit the ecological interactions between the components of wetland ecosystems (plants, sediments, and microbial flora and fauna) to trap and store nutrients from wastewater (Lin et al, 2002; Schultz et al, 2003;Lymbery et al, 2006;Vymazal, 2007;Zachritz et al, 2008). Applying a wetland treatment system to effluent from inland saline aquaculture in Australia, however, poses some unique problems.…”

Performance of pilot-scale vertical flow constructed wetlands with and without the emergent macrophyte Spartina alterniflora treating mariculture effluent

“…Based on both economic and environmental demands for more sustainable production practices (e.g., Baccarin and Camargo, 2005;Ramos et al, 2009), the aquaculture community has constructed wetlands as a promising option to deal with its wastewaters, which have eutrophic characteristics. However, there is still a lack of knowledge to allow complete understanding and optimization of key processes such as organic mineralization, nitrification, denitrification, and phosphorus removal (Lin et al, 2005;Lymbery et al, 2006;Sindilariu et al, 2007). Studies about the treatment of marine (Sansanayuth et al, 1996) or brackish (Tilley et al, 2002) aquaculture wastewater by constructed wetlands are scarce.…”

“…The wide flexibility in constructed wetlands design and operation adds to the challenge (IWA, 2000;Stottmeister et al, 2003). Recently, many studies have produced important information about basic factors affecting purification processes such as oxygen flow (Wu et al, 2001), redox potential (Wiessner et al, 2005a), sulfur cycle (Wiessner et al, 2005b), salinity (Lymbery et al, 2006), and vegetation dominance (Maine et al, 2007b). Beyond allowing an effective technological application for wetland systems, this knowledge can be fundamental in the area of conservation and management of natural wetlands (Sundareshwar et al, 2003).…”

“…microbial processes, molecular diffusion) (IWA, 2000;Stottmeister et al, 2003). Owing to the complexity of factors governing the processes of wastewater purification, it has been challenging to understand and predict the effects of wetlands upon eutrophic effluents (Wiessner et al, 2005a(Wiessner et al, , 2005bLymbery et al, 2006;Sindilariu et al, 2007;Borges et al, 2008). The wide flexibility in constructed wetlands design and operation adds to the challenge (IWA, 2000;Stottmeister et al, 2003).…”