Author(s): Kumud Acharya; Achyut Adhikari; Mark Stone; Seth Shanahan; Xiaoping Zhou; Debbie Van Dooremolen; Carol Lane
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Keywords: Wetlands ecosystem; Nutrient removal; Water quality improvement
Abstract: Surface-flow constructed wetlands with a diversity of plants can provide an effective means for treating and polishing contaminated water. Constructed wetlands could play even more important roles in arid regions because of the necessity of water reuse. The Las Vegas Watershed has several naturally occurring and artificial wetlands supported by treated and untreated wastewater effluents, urban runoff, and shallow groundwater. In this study, nutrient removal potential of different wetlands types was compared based on the nutrient uptake by four different plant species namely Typha domingensis, Schoenoplectus californicus, Schoenoplectus americanus and Schoenoplectus acutus growing in these wetlands. A significant difference was observed in the uptake of nutrients by plants at various wetlands. The preliminary data also suggests that the efficiency of nutrient uptake was more specific to the location and ambient nutrient concentration rather than the plant type. Similarly, the young plants and below ground biomass appeared to have higher concentrations per unit biomass than older and above ground biomass. This study provides useful insights for managers to implement sustainable and more scientific vegetation management plans as well as choose a suitable site before deciding on new constructed wetlands design.
Year: 2010