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Effects of plant roots on the hydraulic performance during the clogging process in mesocosm vertical flow constructed wetlands

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of plant roots (Typha angustifolia roots) on the hydraulic performance during the clogging process from the perspective of time and space distributions in mesocosm vertical flow-constructed wetlands with coarse sand matrix. For this purpose, a pair of lab-scale experiments was conducted to compare planted and unplanted systems by measuring the effective porosity and hydraulic conductivity of the substrate within different operation periods. Furthermore, the flow pattern of the clogging process in the planted and unplanted wetland systems were evaluated by their hydraulic performance (e.g., mean residence time, short circuiting, volumetric efficiency, number of continuously stirred tank reactors, and hydraulic efficiency factor) in salt tracer experiments. The results showed that the flow conditions would change in different clogging stages, which indicated that plants played different roles related to time and space. In the early clogging stages, plant roots restricted the flow of water, while in the middle and later clogging stages, especially the later stage, growing roots opened new pore spaces in the substrate. The roots played an important role in affecting the hydraulic performance in the upper layer (0–30 cm) where the sand matrix had a larger root volume fraction. Finally, the causes of the controversy over plant roots’ effects on clogging were discussed. The results helped further understand the effects of plant roots on hydraulic performance during the clogging process.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge financial support for this work from the Natural Science Fund Project in Jiangsu Province (BK20130834), the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB417005), Natural Science Foundation of China (51209070), and the National Higher Education Institution General Research and Development Funding (2012B00714). The anonymous referees are also thanked for constructive comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Conservancy and Hydroelectric Power, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, 210098, Nanjing, China

    G. F. Hua, R. Guo & Y. T. Zeng

  2. State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resource and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, 210098, Nanjing, China

    G. F. Hua & Z. W. Zhao

  3. College of Environment, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, 210098, Nanjing, China

    Z. W. Zhao & L. F. Zhao

  4. College of Harbour, Coastal and Offshore Engineering, Hohai University, No. 1 Xikang Road, 210098, Nanjing, China

    J. Kong

  5. State Key Laboratory of Hydrology and Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering Science, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, 210029, Nanjing, China

    Q. D. Zhu

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  1. G. F. Hua
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  2. Z. W. Zhao
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  3. J. Kong
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  4. R. Guo
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  6. L. F. Zhao
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  7. Q. D. Zhu
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Correspondence to G. F. Hua.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Hua, G.F., Zhao, Z.W., Kong, J. et al. Effects of plant roots on the hydraulic performance during the clogging process in mesocosm vertical flow constructed wetlands. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 13017–13026 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3249-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3249-1

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