Pilot and Field Studies of Modular Bioretention Tree System with Talipariti tiliaceum and Engineered Soil Filter Media in the Tropics

Abstract

Stormwater runoff management is challenging in a highly urbanised tropical environment due to the unique space constraints and tropical climate conditions. A modular bioretention tree (MBT) with a small footprint and a reduced on-site installation time was explored for application in a tropical environment. Tree species used in the pilot studies were Talipariti tiliaceum (TT1) and Sterculia macrophylla (TT2). Both of the MBTs could effectively remove total suspended solids (TSS), total phosphorus (TP), zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead with removal efficiencies of greater than 90%. Total nitrogen (TN) removal was noted to be significantly higher in the wet period compared to the dry period (p < 0.05). Variation in TN removal between TT1 and TT2 were attributed to the nitrogen uptake and the root formation of the trees species. A field study MBT using Talipariti tiliaceum had a very clean effluent quality, with average TSS, TP, and TN effluent EMC of 4.8 mg/L, 0.04 mg/L, and 0.27 mg/L, respectively. Key environmental factors were also investigated to study their impact on the performance of BMT. It was found that the initial pollutant concentration, the dissolved fraction of influent pollutants, and soil moisture affect the performance of the MBT. Based on the results from this study, the MBT demonstrates good capability in the improvement of stormwater runoff quality.

Woodland Establishment Reduces Nutrient Losses to Waterbodies in Urban Catchments: A Review of the Evidence

“…The majority of experimental studies characterizing stormwater nutrient retention considered trees as part of NBS installations. These typically involved controlling stormwater inputs and soil hydrological conditions in mesocosms, either representing modular (Lim et al., 2021) or street‐scale bioretention systems (Denman et al., 2016; Tirpak, Hathaway, & Franklin, 2019) including those initiatives forming part of suspended pavement installations (Page et al., 2015; Tirpak et al., 2019b). The studies largely showed NBS to be beneficial, although those of Tirpak, Hathway & Franklin (2019), Tirpak, Hathway, Franklin, et al.…”

Evaluation of Active, Beautiful, Clean Waters Design Features in Tropical Urban Cities: A Case Study in Singapore

“…When comparing with other field studies in Singapore, similar information was obtained. Lim et al [38] observed poor pollutant removal efficiency for a modular bioretention tree system due to low influent runoff pollutant concentration, which may be caused by the high frequency and seasonal severity of storm events. Compared with another ABCWDF by Ong et al [19], the effluent concentrations were slightly lower in that study.…”

“…FB7 generally performed well in TSS removal with the average effluent TSS EMCs similar to the treatment objectives of 10.0 mg/L as stipulated in the ABC Waters design guidelines. However, if the system is assessed based on the percentage removal efficiency, poor efficiency (−34%) was obtained due to the low influent TSS EMCs [38]. Various field studies in the temperate region reported a similar range of bioretention effluent TSS concentration [39,40], but positive removal efficiency due to higher influent TSS concentration.…”

Potential of bioretention plants in treating urban runoff polluted with greywater under tropical climate

“…regardless of the research design and setup (Barron et al 2020;Blecken et al 2010;Bratieres et al 2008;Fowdar et al 2017;Hatt et al 2009;Hsieh and Davis 2005;Lim et al 2021;Søberg et al 2020).…”