Nitrogen and Phosphorous Removal by Ornamental and Wetland Plants in a Greenhouse Recirculation Research System

Abstract

<jats:p>A nutrient recirculation system (NRS) was used to assess the ability of four ornamental and three wetland plant species to remove nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) from stormwater runoff. The NRS was filled with a nutrient solution with total N and P concentrations of 11.3 and 3.1 mg·L<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup>, respectively, to simulate high levels of nutrient contaminations in stormwater. Nutrient removal abilities of herbaceous perennial ornamental plants, canna (<jats:italic>Canna</jats:italic> ×<jats:italic>generalis</jats:italic> Bailey) ‘Australia’, iris (<jats:italic>Iris pseudacorus</jats:italic> L.) ‘Golden Fleece’, calla lily [<jats:italic>Zantedeschia aethiopica</jats:italic> (L.) Spreng], and dwarf papyrus (<jats:italic>Cyperus haspan</jats:italic> L.) were compared with those of wetland plants arrow arum [<jats:italic>Peltandra virginica</jats:italic> (L.) Schott], pickerelweed (<jats:italic>Pontederia cordata</jats:italic> L.), and bulltongue arrowhead (<jats:italic>Sagittaria lancifolia</jats:italic> L.) in three experiments. ‘Australia’ canna had the greatest water consumption, total biomass production, and aboveground N and P content followed by pickerelweed. ‘Golden Fleece’ iris had higher tissue N concentrations than canna but much lower biomass production. Dwarf papyrus had similar total biomass as pickerelweed but less shoot biomass. N and P removed from the NRS units planted with canna (98.7% N and 91.8% P) were higher than those planted with iris and arrow arum (31.6% and 31.5% N, and 38.5% and 26.3% P, respectively). NRS units planted with dwarf papyrus had similar nutrient recovery rate as pickerelweed, but much less total N and P were removed as a result of less water consumption. The NRS units planted with calla lily had lower nutrient removal than canna and pickerelweed. Our results suggest that canna is a promising ornamental species for stormwater mitigation, and harvesting the aboveground biomass of canna can effectively remove N and P from the treatment system. However, more research needs to be done to evaluate factors that might affect plant performance in a floating biofiltration system.</jats:p>

Efficiency of pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), sweet wormwood (Artemisia annua) and amaranth (Amaranthus dubius) in removing nutrients from a smallscale recirculating aquaponic system

“…Our findings indicate that sweet wormwood had high NUE due to the significantly high nitrogen content which translated to high growth rates than amaranth and pumpkin. Studies using mangroves (Agraz-Hernández et al 2018) wetland plants (Chen et al 2009) have demonstrated that luxury uptake contributes to the removal of nutrients from wastewater. The substantial removal of phosphorus on day 15 in all the hydroponic subsystems can be attributed to increased demand for root development when plants are young, whereas high phosphorus removal efficiency of pumpkin can be an indication of luxury uptake of phosphorus to offset anticipated need during the fruiting stage (Buzby and Lin 2014).…”

Suitability of nutrients removal from brewery wastewater using a hydroponic technology with Typha latifolia

“…For simplicity, excavation reasons and adequacy for removal comparison, belowground biomass sample of T. latifolia was not considered in the present study. Furthermore, aboveground biomass is important in estimating the amount of biomass to be harvested for reuse [ 41 ].…”

Evaluating macrophyte selection and germination protocols to enhance nutrient sequestration in engineered wetland models

“…Triclosan is an antibacterial agent found in hand sanitizers, soaps, detergents etc. This study used Typha latifolia, Phragmites australis, and Phalaris arundinacea (Chen et al, 2009). They found a 70% reduction in triclosan at the end of their twelve-month study.…”