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Variation in the Efficiency of Nutrient Removal in a Pilot-Scale Natural Wetland

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Abstract

This two-year study focused on mechanisms of nutrient removal efficiency and variation in this efficiency in a pilot-scale natural wetland with different macrophyte species. Effects of plant harvesting and the differences among plant species (Ceratophyllum demersum, Nelumbo nucifera, Zizania latifolia, Hemarthria sibirica, Phragmites communis, and Typha orientalis) were investigated. Results show that the mean retention of total nitrogen (N), total dissolved N, ammonia N, nitrite N, total phosphorus (P), total dissolved P, and phosphate P in the second year was generally lower than that found in the first year. Harvest of above-ground macrophytes had a beneficial effect on retention capacity, especially for total dissolved N and ammonia N, whereas an increase in nutrient concentration was observed in zones that were not harvested. The total N removal efficiency had a positive relationship with inflow loading. A mixture of Z. latifolia and T. orientalis demonstrated the best potential for both N and P retention.

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Acknowledgments

This research was jointly funded by the China National Fund for Water Pollution Control and Management project (2008ZX07101-012), the Natural Science Foundation of China (40901252), and by the director of the Nanjing Geography and Lakes Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS2010KXJ01).

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  1. Weiping Hu

    Present address: State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, Jiangsu, China

    Jinge Zhu, Liuming Hu, Jiancai Deng, Qinqin Li & Feng Gao

  2. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Jinge Zhu, Liuming Hu, Qinqin Li & Feng Gao

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  1. Jinge Zhu
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  2. Weiping Hu
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  3. Liuming Hu
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  4. Jiancai Deng
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Correspondence to Weiping Hu.

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Zhu, J., Hu, W., Hu, L. et al. Variation in the Efficiency of Nutrient Removal in a Pilot-Scale Natural Wetland. Wetlands 32, 311–319 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-011-0261-9

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