This article was downloaded by: [University of Connecticut]On: 11 October 2014, At: 13:00Publisher: Taylor & FrancisInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

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Start-up performance of a novelconstructed riparian wetland forremoving phosphorus from agriculturalrunoffLiang Zhanga, Meng Xua, Yun Dua, Shengjun Wub, Qi Fenga, YanhuaZhuanga & Sisi Liaa Key Laboratory of Monitoring and Estimate for Environment andDisaster of Hubei Province, Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430077, People's Republic ofChinab Key Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, ChongqingInstitute of Green Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy ofSciences, Chongqing 400714, People's Republic of ChinaPublished online: 30 May 2014.

To cite this article: Liang Zhang, Meng Xu, Yun Du, Shengjun Wu, Qi Feng, Yanhua Zhuang & SisiLi (2014) Start-up performance of a novel constructed riparian wetland for removing phosphorusfrom agricultural runoff, Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 11:2, 143-154, DOI:10.1080/1943815X.2014.900085

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1943815X.2014.900085

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Start-up performance of a novel constructed riparian wetland forremoving phosphorus from agricultural runoff

Liang Zhanga1, Meng Xua2, Yun Dua*, Shengjun Wub3, Qi Fenga4, Yanhua Zhuanga5 and

Sisi Lia6

aKey Laboratory of Monitoring and Estimate for Environment and Disaster of Hubei Province,Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430077, People’sRepublic of China; bKey Laboratory of Reservoir Aquatic Environment, Chongqing Institute ofGreen Intelligent Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chongqing 400714, People’s Republicof China

(Received 8 October 2013; accepted 27 February 2014)

The overloading agricultural phosphorus inputs play significant roles in acceleratingeutrophication of receiving waters. For the propose of phosphorus removal fromagricultural runoff, a field-scale free surface flow constructed riparian wetland system,with cost-effective and easily maintainable design, was constructed for receivingrunoff from a small agricultural watershed on the northeastern lakeside rural areas ofLiangzi Lake, China. During the start-up period, the system potentially provided abuffering capacity in irrigative and rainy periods. Wetland vegetations grew relativelywell during the observed period (1 August–30 October 2012). Furthermore, the growthof vegetations has assisted in transforming the constructed riparian wetland structure tofit well with the surrounding landscape. The reductions in average concentrations ofPO4-P and total phosphorus (TP) during the start-up period were approximately 75.6%and 46.5%, respectively. Moreover, the influences of environmental conditions on PO4-P and TP removal and retention in the constructed riparian wetland system were alsoanalyzed. The results indicated that water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen,and pH were important factors controlling phosphorus redistribution in the studiedsystem. Generally, the constructed riparian wetland system preformed satisfactoryduring the start-up period, and it might be a suitable wastewater treatment tool forfarms in poor rural areas.

Keywords: integrated constructed wetland; eutrophication; PO4-P; cost-effective;agricultural runoff

1. Introduction

Water eutrophication in lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, and rivers is the most widespread

environmental threat to surface waters over the past four decades. Eutrophication causes a

severe reduction in water quality and ecological system health problems (Jørgensen and

Richardson 1996; Smith 2003). To some extent, point sources pollutions could be

controlled effectively due to their easy identification. However, there are still eutrophic

water problems (Qin et al. 2013). Fertilizers are the most important source of phosphorus.

Agricultural nonpoint source runoff may result in massive discharges of overloading

fertilizers into estuarine habitats adjacent to agricultural areas or downstream from

agricultural watersheds (Zhuang et al. 2012). The overloading agricultural phosphorus

q 2014 Taylor & Francis

*Corresponding author. Email: duyun@whigg.ac.cn

Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences, 2014

Vol. 11, No. 2, 143–154, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1943815X.2014.900085

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inputs can often increase the biological productivity of surface waters and consequently

accelerate eutrophication (Sharpley and Withers 1994; Walna 2013).

Constructed wetland has been proved and widely used as a reliable technology for

agricultural wastewater treatment (Dunne et al. 2005; Zhang et al. 2008, 2009, 2010).

Phosphorus removal and retention mechanisms in wetlands have been described by

Vymazal (2007). On the basis of the water flow regime, constructed wetlands are usually

classified into three basic types: free water surface constructed wetlands, sub-surface

constructed wetlands with horizontal and vertical flows (Vymazal 2007). Moreover,

various categories of constructed wetlands are designed and employed for different

missions, such as: increasing nutrients removal efficiencies (USEPA 2000), reducing

operating and maintenance costs (Zou et al. 2012), and enhancing landscape-fit and

biodiversity (Dunne et al. 2005; Harrington et al. 2005; Scholz et al. 2007).

A field-scale free surface flow constructed riparian wetland, for removing phosphorus

from agricultural runoff, was constructed using a novel-integrated constructed wetland

(ICW) concept, involving economical viability, environmental sustainability, and an

important addition to the landscape with significant amenity values (Dunne et al. 2005;

Harrington et al. 2005; Scholz et al. 2007; Department of the Environment, Heritage and

Local Government 2010). Furthermore, the performance of the constructed riparian

wetland system was evaluated.

2. Materials and methods

2.1 Site description

The free surface flow constructed riparian wetland system was constructed for storing and

treating runoff from a small agricultural watershed on the northeastern lakeside rural areas

of Liangzi Lake (longitude: 1148320 –1148430E; latitude: 308010 –308160N). The lake is

located in the southeastern part of Hubei Province, China, situated in the south bank of the

middle reaches of Yangtze River (Figure 1). Recently, with the rapid agricultural

economic development around the Liangzi Lake valley, uncontrolled agricultural runoff

seriously contaminated the lake water. The monthly variations of precipitation and mean

temperature of the study area during January 2009–September 2013, obtained from China

Meteorological Data Sharing Service System, are shown in Figure 2.

The studied agricultural watershed had an area of 47.0 ha approximately. The land use

of the studied agricultural watershed was varied. The areas of bush-grass, ponds, bare land,

and forest land accounted for more than 55% of the total land areas. About 15% of the land

areas were used as paddy fields, vegetable fields, and little peanut fields (Figure 3). The

main land use types were distributed in a patchy way, some were distributed in a strip way.

The forest land was distributed in the middle region and in a relatively high land in the

south side. The upper reaches were relatively flat, which allowed a large area for paddy

fields. Orchards and dried croplands lay in south-central area. The location of the

constructed riparian wetland system was at the south bottom, which was also the lowest

part of this area.

2.2 Field-scale system

Construction of the constructed riparian wetland system began in November 2011, and was

followed by commissioning from June 2012. The constructed riparian wetland system was

designed based on topography and subsequently constructed on the basis of the holistic use

of land to controlwater quality (Dunne et al. 2005;Harrington et al. 2005; Scholz et al. 2007;

144 L. Zhang et al.

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Kayranli et al. 2010). The constructed riparian wetland, with a total area of 2844m2,

comprised of three shallow vegetated wetland cells arranged in sequence (Figure 1). The

areas of three cells were approximately 1397, 688, and 759m2, respectively. Generally,

Figure 1. The pilot study site and configuration of the constructed riparian wetland system.

Jun

2009

Dec 2

009

Jun

2010

Dec 2

010

Jun

2011

Dec 2

011

Jun

2012

Dec 2

012

Jun

2013

0

10

20

30

40

50

Mea

n te

mpe

ratu

re (

°C)

Month

0

200

400

600

800

1000

Pre

cipi

tatio

n (m

m)

Mean temperature

Precipitation

Figure 2. The monthly variations of precipitation and mean temperature of the study area duringJanuary 2009–September 2013.

Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences 145

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all wetland cells were flooded to a water depth of 30–40 cm. Water flowed passively

between wetland cells without any mechanical equipment or outside power source. The

treated effluents discharged from constructed riparian wetland system were stored in an

onsite pond for agricultural reuse.

Several macrophytic species, which were generally sourced locally, were planted in

the wetland using local soil. Predominant plant species included Iris tectorum, Typha

orientalis, Pontederia cordata, and Thalia dealbata. During the start-up period, the

percentage of vegetation cover in the three wetland cells was qualitatively ranged from

70% to 95%. The vegetation growth was observed from August to December 2012.

The system was constructed by using local materials to minimize capital costs. The

average cost for construction was approximately 18.0 CNY (Chinese Yuan, currency unit)

per square meter. Additionally, without extra mechanical equipment or complex operation

and maintenance, the running costs and labor costs of this system were both low. Natural

contours of the constructed riparian wetland were utilized to support the good distribution

of flows in the system. Figure 4 shows the constructed riparian wetland system in summer.

2.3 Water analysis

Water level meters were installed for water level observation. The daily flows were

calculated with the continuously recorded water level data. Water quality monitoring of

the constructed riparian wetland system during start-up period was conducted for 5 months

(30 June until 1 December 2012). Water quality data were collected two to three times per

month by monitoring the water samples, collected from sampling slots at inlet and outlet

sites. Water temperature (8C), pH (–), conductivity (mS/cm), total dissolved solids (TDS)

(mg/l), and dissolved oxygen (DO) (mg/l) were measured by using a YSI 556 MPS

(Multiprobe System) in situ. Total phosphorus (TP) (mg/l) and PO4-P (mg/l)

Figure 3. The distribution of land use of the studied agricultural watershed.

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concentrations were measured by a spectrophotometer in laboratory (APHA 1998). After

the start-up period, water samples were also collected and analyzed several times.

2.4 Statistical analyses

All statistical analyses were performed using the standard software packages Origin 8 and

SPSS 19 (R, Pearson’s correlation coefficient). Significant differences ( p , 0.05, if not

stated otherwise) between data-sets were indicated where appropriate.

3. Results and discussion

3.1 Water level

The water levels were recorded during June–November 2012. The outlet water levels

were significantly associate with the inlet water levels (Figure 5) (R ¼ 0.741, p , 0.001,

N ¼ 154). The daily flows were calculated with the continuously recorded water level

data. Mean daily flows of the constructed riparian wetland system during the monitoring

period were 141.8 ^ 379.6m3/day and the average PO4-P and TP loadings of the system

were 4.367 and 7.203 g/day, respectively. However, there was no flow observed from the

Figure 4. The constructed riparian wetland system in summer 2012.

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system during most of this period. It provided a buffering capacity in irrigative and rainy

periods such that agriculture wastewaters can be stored and further treated in the

constructed riparian wetland system rather than discharging immediately.

3.2 Wetland vegetation

The I. tecotrum, T. orientalis, P. cordata, and T. dealbata were planted in three wetland

cells in different planting zone, and the percentages of different vegetation types during

the start-up period in three cells are given in Table 1. The average heights of macrophytes

had been observed from August to December in 2012. The I. tecotrum, T. orientalis,

P. cordata, and T. dealbata in the constructed riparian wetland system grew well from

August to October. It has been reported that the mixed wetland system like this is more

effective in the distribution of rooting biomass, less susceptible to seasonal variations and

disturbances, and has more diverse microbial populations than monoculture wetlands

(Karathanasis et al. 2003; Amon et al. 2007), all of these merits might increase nutrient

removal in mixed wetland (Qiu et al. 2011). In this period, the average height of P. cordata

in cells 1 and 2 increased by more than 20%, and the average height of T. orientalis also

increased about 17%. While both were in good condition, the I. tecorum in cell 1 grew

faster than cell 2. The observation and measurement in December indicated that there was

no big growth in the average heights of these macrophytes comparing with that in October.

The growth of macorphtyes had slowed down and the I. tecorum had already withered in

December. The debris of I. tecorum in this case could provide an important insulation

during winter especially in temperate and cold climatic regions (Smith et al. 1997; Mander

and Jenssen 2003), and the algal growth could also be limited due to lack of light, which is

desirable because phytoplankton growth could cause increase of suspended solids in the

outflow (Vymazal and Kropfelova 2008).

3.3 Variation in phosphorus concentration

Different constructed wetlands remove phosphorus at widely differing rates (Jordan et al.

2003). In the wetlands reported by Ren et al. (2013), the concentrations of TP from

agricultural source decreased by 17.91%. In a free-water surface wetland, covering an area

30 40 50 60 70 800

10

20

30

40

50

60

Out

let w

ater

leve

ls (

cm)

Inlet water levels (cm)

Figure 5. Relationship between the inlet and outlet water levels.

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Table

1.

Thepercentages

ofdifferentvegetationtypes

andtheobserved

averageheightsofmacrophytesin

threecells.

Averageheightsofmacrophytes(m

)

Cell1

Cell2

Cell3

I.tectorum

T.orientalis

P.cordata

P.cordata

I.tectorum

T.dealbata

P.cordata

Observationdate

(28%)

(36%)

(36%)

(74%)

(26%)

(13%)

(87%)

1August2012

0.50

0.58

0.70

0.95

0.56

1.40

0.90

30August2012

0.53

0.65

0.80

1.10

0.63

1.70

1.10

29September

2012

0.63

0.67

0.83

1.15

0.64

1.80

1.15

30October

2012

0.68

0.68

0.85

1.15

0.64

1.85

1.25

1Decem

ber

2012

Withered

0.68

0.88

1.20

Withered

1.85

1.28

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of 2800m2, the phosphorus removal rate was 57% (Lu et al. 2009). In this research, the

reductions in average concentrations of PO4-P and TP during the start-up period were

approximately 75.6% and 46.5%, respectively.

The average inflow and outflow PO4-P concentrations, water temperatures,

conductivities, TDS, DO and pH values, during the start-up period, were presented in

Table 2. The variations in the PO4-P and TP concentrations of the inflow and outflow

from June to December 2012 were shown in Figure 6. The constructed riparian wetland

received drainage water from agricultural fields low in phosphorus. The PO4-P

concentrations in the inflow ranged from 0.0006 to 0.0892mg/l, averaging 0.0308mg/l,

and the inflow TP concentrations varied from 0.0080mg/l to 0.0990mg/l, averaging

0.0508mg/l. The main form of TP in agricultural runoff was PO4-P, which accounted for

60.6%.

Variation in the PO4-P concentrations in the inflow showed a positive relationship with

TP concentrations (R ¼ 0.847, p , 0.001, N ¼ 14). During the start-up period of

constructed riparian wetland system, the variations in the outflow PO4-P and TP

concentrations performed relatively stable compared with inflow PO4-P and TP

concentrations (Figure 6). The average concentrations for the period of 5 months (with

standard deviations) were 0.0308 ^ 0.03061mg/l (inflow) and 0.0075 ^ 0.00771mg/l

(outflow) PO4-P, 0.0508 ^ 0.03067mg/l (inflow) and 0.0272 ^ 0.01697mg/l (outflow)

TP (Table 2). Variation in the PO4-P and TP concentration in the outflow both showed

positive relationships with inflow PO4-P (R ¼ 0.511, p ¼ 0.037, N ¼ 13) and TP

(R ¼ 0.472, p ¼ 0.052, N ¼ 13) concentrations, respectively. Generally, the outflow

phosphorus concentrations were close to the Chinese Surface Water Environment Quality

Standards (GB3838-2002) grade II (0.025mg/l TP for lakes/reservoirs). It was proposed

that the treated effluent from constructed riparian wetland system could be beneficially

reused as reclaimed water.

In order to assess the removal efficiency for the constructed riparian wetland after the

start-up period, additional water quality data were also collected in January and April

2013. In January 2013, the average concentrations were 0.0122mg/l (inflow) and

0.0099mg/l (outflow) PO4-P, 0.0306mg/l (inflow) and 0.0235mg/l (outflow) TP; and in

April 2013, those were 0.0398mg/l (inflow) and 0.0144mg/l (outflow) PO4-P, 0.0572mg/l

(inflow) and 0.0260mg/l (outflow) TP. The average concentrations of PO4-P and TP

decreased by 18.4% and 23.2% (in January) during vegetation die-off and senescence.

Table 2. Summary statistics of the inflow and outflow water quality parameters of constructedriparian wetland system.

Inflow Outflow

Parameter UnitSamplenumber Mean

Standarddeviation

Samplenumber Mean

Standarddeviation

Removalrate

PO4-P mg/l 14 0.0308 0.03061 15 0.0075 0.00771 75.6%TP mg/l 14 0.0508 0.03067 14 0.0272 0.01697 46.5%Temperature 8C 14 21.1 6.65 15 23.1 7.86 –Conductivity mS/cm 14 0.266 0.0571 15 0.248 0.0559 –TDS mg/l 14 0.189 0.0409 15 0.172 0.0448 –DO mg/l 14 4.76 1.861 15 5.90 1.354 –pH – 14 7.07 1.847 15 7.49 0.348 –

Note: TP, total phosphorus; TDS, total dissolved solids; DO, dissolved oxygen.

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With the growth of the vegetations, the reductions in average concentrations were

increased to 63.9% and 54.5%.

The average outflow PO4-P and TP concentrations in summer (June–August) (0.0065

and 0.0183mg/l) was the lowest. The average outflow PO4-P concentrations in spring

(March–May) (0.0144mg/l) were the highest, while the average outflow TP

concentrations in winter (December–February) (0.0323mg/l) were the highest.

6-30

7-10

7-20

8-01

8-10

8-20

8-30

9-10

9-20

9-30

10-1

010

-2010

-3011

-1011

-2012

-01

0.00

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0.04

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PO

4-P

(m

g/l)

Date

InfowOutflow

(a)

6-30

7-10

7-20

8-01

8-10

8-20

8-30

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9-30

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010

-2010

-3011

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0.00

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TP

(m

g/l)

Date

(b)InfowOutflow

Figure 6. The variations in the (a) PO4-P and (b) TP concentrations of the inflow and outflow.

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3.4 Influence on phosphorus removal

Phosphorus redistribution in the constructed wetland system occurs through adsorption,

precipitation, plant and microbial uptake, fragmentation, leaching, mineralization,

sedimentation, and burial processes that may occur sequentially or simultaneously, and

other water quality variables (such as conductivity and pH) play an important role in those

highly complex processes (Hammer and Bastian 1989; USEPA 2000; Vymazal 2007;

Zhang et al. 2008). Wetlands provide an environment for the interconversion of all forms

of phosphorus (Vymazal 2007). Table 3 summarized the results from a correlation analysis

comprising the temperature of the input variables, conductivity, TDS, DO and pH, and the

target variables PO4-P and TP.

The outflow conductivity (R ¼ 20.435), DO (R ¼ 20.483) and pH (R ¼ 20.403)

were negatively correlated with the PO4-P concentration, suggesting that conductivity,

DO, and pH had positive effects on the PO4-P redistribution in the constructed riparian

wetland system during the start-up period. Low outflow PO4-P concentrations were

linked to high conductivity values, DO concentrations, and pH values. Nevertheless,

PO4-P correlated comparatively weakly with temperature and TDS. Furthermore, outflow

TP also correlated weakly with TDS. Unlike the case of PO4-P removal, TP removal was

largely influenced by water temperature (R ¼ 20.561, p ¼ 0.018). Temperature and

conductivity (R ¼ 20.364) correlated negatively with TP, indicating that water

temperature and conductivity had positive impacts on TP redistribution. In contrast,

DO concentrations (R ¼ 0.327) and pH values (R ¼ 0.394) were positively correlated

with TP concentrations, indicating that DO and pH had negative effects on TP

redistribution. Factors affecting PO4-P and TP redistribution in the constructed wetland

were different during the start-up period, and this might be caused by the unstable

ecosystem in the newly formed wetlands.

4. Conclusions

The free surface flow constructed riparian wetland system had beautiful natural sceneries,

and simplicity of operation and maintenance during the start-up period. The system was

capable of treating agricultural runoff that it provided a sustainable tool to reduce

phosphorus loading to receiving waters. The system performed satisfactory for PO4-P

(75.6%) and TP (46.5%) decreasing during the start-up period. The outflow phosphorus

concentrations were close to the Chinese surface water environment quality standards. The

influences on phosphorus redistribution during the start-up period were also revealed. The

constructed riparian wetland system preformed relatively well for decreasing phosphorus

Table 3. Correlation coefficients (R) and corresponding p values, variable pairs (N) (inparentheses) related to correlation analysis comprising phosphorus, and other water quality variablesof inflow and outflow.

Inflow Outflow

Variables PO4-P TP PO4-P TP

Temperature 0.452 (0.053, 14) 0.193 (0.255, 14) 20.191 (0.247, 15) 20.561 (0.018, 14)Conductivity 0.131 (0.328, 14) 0.029 (0.461, 14) 20.435 (0.053, 15) 20.364 (0.101, 14)TDS 20.235 (0.210, 14) 20.147 (0.308, 14) 20.284 (0.152, 15) 0.016 (0.487, 14)DO 20.069 (0.407, 14) 0.261 (0.184, 14) 20.483 (0.034, 15) 0.327 (0.127, 14)pH 20.599 (0.012, 14) 20.422 (0.066, 14) 20.403 (0.068, 15) 0.394 (0.081, 14)

Note: TP, total phosphorus; TDS, total dissolved solids; DO, dissolved oxygen.

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from agricultural runoff, and provided a good potential approach for agricultural

phosphorus control in poor rural areas.

Funding

The authors thank the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number41001333], the Specialized Research Project for Public Welfare Sector of Ministry of WaterResources [grant number 201101063], the National Key Technology R&D Program of China [grantnumber 2012BAC06B03], the Youth Chenguang Project of Science and Technology of Wuhan City[grant number 201150431072], Hubei Province Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number2011CDB404], and Collaborative innovation Center for Geo-Hazards and Eco-Environment inThree Gorges Area.

Notes

1. Email: lzhang@whigg.ac.cn2. Email: dream0131@asch.whigg.ac.cn3. Email: wsj@whigg.ac.cn4. Email: fengqi@whigg.ac.cn5. Email: 258577399@qq com6. Email: gyluohan@gmail.com

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