Evaluation of field wetlands for mitigation of diffuse pollution from agriculture: Sediment retention, cost and effectiveness

Ockenden, Mary; Deasy, C.; Quinton, John; Bailey, Alison; Surridge, Ben; Stoate, Chris

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2012.06.003

Cited by 71 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 26 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). Allowing the recreation of more natural environments, may provide a cost‐effective strategy (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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%

“…The estimated sediment accumulation rates, presented for the pond sequence in our study (0.71 t ha ‐1 yr ‐1 ), compares closely with those presented by Ockenden et al . (2012) for 10 different wetlands constructed with the aim of sediment retention (range 0.01–0.8 t ha ‐1 yr ‐1 ).…”

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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“…Several studies have shown that in runoff from agricultural fields, phosphorus is transported largely as particulate phosphorus [15][16][17][19][20][21][22]. Therefore, sedimentation is likely to be the predominant phosphorus removal process in wetlands receiving high phosphorus loads [23][24][25][26][27]. In addition to estimations of nutrient removal in individual wetlands based on water monitoring data, measurements of particulate phosphorus accumulation on sediments [23] were therefore included here.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Large-Scale Wetland Creation in Agricultural Areas—Potential versus Realized Effects on Nutrient Transports

Weisner

Johannesson

Thiere

et al. 2016

Water

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During 2007During -2013, the Swedish Board of Agriculture granted support within a national program to about 1000 wetlands, corresponding to a 5300-hectare wetland area, with the dual goal to remove nutrients from water and to improve biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects on nutrient transports that are realized within the national program to what could be obtained with the same area of wetlands if location and design of wetlands were optimized. In single, highly nutrient-loaded wetlands, a removal of around 1000 kg nitrogen and 100 kg phosphorus per hectare wetland area and year was estimated from monitoring data. Statistical models were developed to estimate the overall nutrient removal effects of wetlands created within the national program. Depending on model, the effect of the national program as a whole was estimated to between 27 and 38 kg nitrogen and between 2.7 and 4.5 kg phosphorus per hectare created wetland area and year. Comparison of what is achieved in individual wetlands to what was achieved in the national program indicates that nutrient removal effects could be increased substantially in future wetland programs by emphasising location and design of wetlands.

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“…This internal movement of particles probably led to an overestimation of accumulated material on the sedimentation plates. Internal erosion from the sides of a newly constructed wetland was also observed in one of the wetlands investigated by Ockenden et al (2012). In that study, the authors observed that the sediment loss from the sides of the wetland decreased after the first year, due to vegetation establishment that stabilized the sides of the wetland.…”

Section: Summary Of Methods Evaluation 441 P Accumulation Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…The lowest particle accumulation was in Wig, where the P accumulation was also the lowest. In a study of ten small constructed wetlands in the UK, Ockenden et al (2012) investigated sediment accumulation. The annual sedimentation rate was 2 to 5 kg m -2 yr -1 in catchments dominated by clay soils, 5 to 110 kg m -2 yr -1 in catchments with silty soils, and up to 600 kg m -2 yr -1 in catchments with sandy soils.…”

Section: Figure 9 Annual Phosphorus Accumulation In the Low-loaded Wmentioning

confidence: 99%

Particulate phosphorus accumulation and net retention in constructed wetlands receiving agricultural runoff : Critical analysis of factors affecting retention estimates

Johannesson¹

2015

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Eutrophication is one of the more serious current environmental problems, causing algal blooms and anoxic bottoms. In fresh and brackish water, phosphorus (P) is often the most limiting nutrient, and various mitigating strategies are used to reduce the load of P to sensitive recipients. In the agricultural sector, this includes both onfield measures (e.g. managing P inputs) and measures at the field edge (e.g. buffer zones and constructed wetlands). Previous evaluations of constructed wetlands (CWs) in Sweden have indicated a variable and relatively low P retention. However, the uncertainties in the estimates are large, and related to an incomplete knowledge about both retention processes and factors determining the P load from agricultural land. Hence, the overall aim of this thesis was to investigate possible reasons for the variation in wetland P retention estimates, and to assess the P retention in wetlands located in agricultural areas where losses are expected to be high.When comparing seven CWs located downstream small catchments with predominantly arable land, the particle and P net accumulation varied considerably (13-108 t particles ha -1 yr -1 and 11-175 kg P ha -1 yr -1 , respectively). Catchment factors that were correlated with accumulation of particles and P in the CWs were the slope of the arable land, the P content of the top soil, the animal density (expressed as livestock units per arable land) and the percentage clay in the topsoils.In four of the wetlands, resuspension was studied using sediment traps and plates. The results showed that up to 87% of the settled material was resuspended, and indicated that erosion of the wetland sides and bottom probably contributed a substantial part of the trapped particles.In order to critically evaluate existing retention data from earlier investigations, the temporal dynamics of P concentrations and P retention in seven CWs were evaluated. The relationships between water flow and concentration (from grab sampling) varied, and depended on the season (warm or cold period of the year), water flow (high or low) and the inlet type (drainage pipe or open ditch). In CWs that received water through an open ditch, flow-concentration relationships were negative during low flow periods but positive during high flow periods. These differences in flow-concentration relationship have implications for water sampling, since P loads can be both over-and underestimated with grab or automatic sampling guided by clock-time. Also composite automatic sampling, regulated from the water flow at the outlet, can lead to errors in transport calculations. This may have an effect on estimates of P retention in both past, present and future investigations of constructed wetlands.Finally, a synoptic sampling approach with ten sampling points was used in an agriculturally dominated catchment area (160 km 2 ) to identify differences in nutrient transport dynamics and areas with the highest losses. Spatial differences in P concentrations were strongly correlated with some of the ...

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Evaluation of field wetlands for mitigation of diffuse pollution from agriculture: Sediment retention, cost and effectiveness

Cited by 71 publications

References 26 publications

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

Sediment and nutrient storage in a beaver engineered wetland

National Large-Scale Wetland Creation in Agricultural Areas—Potential versus Realized Effects on Nutrient Transports

Particulate phosphorus accumulation and net retention in constructed wetlands receiving agricultural runoff : Critical analysis of factors affecting retention estimates

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