Variation among plant species in pollutant removal from stormwater in biofiltration systems

Autor: Jennifer Read, Ana Deletic, Tim D. Fletcher, Tricia Wevill
Rok vydání: 2008
Předmět:
Zdroj: Water Research. 42:893-902
ISSN: 0043-1354
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2007.08.036
Popis: Biofiltration systems use vegetation to improve efficiency of pollutant removal from stormwater, but little is known of how plants vary in their capacity to improve biofilter effectiveness. We used a pot trial of 20 Australian species to investigate how species vary in the removal of pollutants from semisynthetic storm water passing through a soil filter medium. Effluent levels of total suspended solids (TSS), Al, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were similarly low for vegetated and non-vegetated soils, with reduction to1-12% of levels in the stormwater input. N and P effluent concentrations were generally lower from vegetated than non-vegetated soils, but total N increased on average in effluent of both vegetated and non-vegetated soils relative to stormwater input. Effluent concentrations varied 2-4-fold among species for TSS, total N and P, total dissolved N (TDN), organic nitrogen and Cu, to more than 20-fold for NOx, NH4+, Mn, Pb and Fe. Species also varied markedly in pollutant removal per root mass (a means of standardising for plant size), with 18-50-fold variation among species in effluent concentrations of total P and N, TDN and organic N, to150-fold variation in NOx and NH4+. Hence, choice of plant species may have marked effects on biofilter effectiveness.
Databáze: OpenAIRE