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Journal ArticleDOI

Emergent plants used in free water surface constructed wetlands: A review

01 Dec 2013-Ecological Engineering (Elsevier)-Vol. 61, pp 582-592
TL;DR: The literature survey of 643 FWS CWs from 43 countries recorded 150 plant species and revealed that the most commonly used macrophyte genera were Typha, Scirpus (Schoenoplectus), Phragmites, Juncus and Eleocharis.
About: This article is published in Ecological Engineering.The article was published on 2013-12-01. It has received 339 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Typha angustifolia & Typha domingensis.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Sustainable solutions for the performance and application ofConstructed wetlands' application and the recent development on their sustainable design and operation for wastewater treatment are provided by giving a comprehensive review.

739 citations


Cites background from "Emergent plants used in free water ..."

  • ...A combination of various wetland systems, known as hybrid CWs was also introduced for the treatment of wastewater, and this design generally consisted of two stages of several parallel CWs in series, such as VF–HF CWs, HF–VF CWs, HF-FWS CWs and FWS-HF CWs (Vymazal, 2013a)....

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  • ...Vymazal (2013b) surveyed emergent plants used in FWS CWs, and revealed that Phragmites australis is the most frequent species in Europe and Asia, Typha latifolia in North America, Cyperus papyrus in Africa, P. australis and Typha domingensis in Central/South Americas and Scirpus validus in Oceania....

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  • ...However, only a few plant species have been widely used in constructed wetlands (Vymazal, 2013b)....

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  • ...Although more than 150 macrophyte species have been used in CWs globally, only a limited number of these plant species are very often planted in CWs in reality (Vymazal, 2013b)....

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BookDOI
09 Oct 2019
TL;DR: The 2018 edition of the World Water Development Report seeks to inform policy and decision makers, inside and outside the water community, about the potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) to address contemporary water management challenges across all sectors, and particularly regarding water for agriculture, sustainable cities, disaster risk reduction and water quality.
Abstract: The 2018 edition of the World Water Development Report seeks to inform policy and decision-makers, inside and outside the water community, about the potential of nature-based solutions (NBS) to address contemporary water management challenges across all sectors, and particularly regarding water for agriculture, sustainable cities, disaster risk reduction and water quality. Water management remains heavily dominated by traditional, human-built (i.e. ‘grey’) infrastructure and the enormous potential for NBS remains under-utilized. NBS include green infrastructure that can substitute, augment or work in parallel with grey infrastructure in a cost-effective manner. The goal is to find the most appropriate blend of green and grey investments to maximize benefits and system efficiency while minimizing costs and trade-offs.NBS for water are central to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development because they also generate social, economic and environmental co-benefits, including human health and livelihoods, food and energy security, sustainable economic growth, decent jobs, ecosystem rehabilitation and maintenance, and biodiversity. Although NBS are not a panacea, they will play an essential role towards the circular economy and in building a more equitable future for all.

286 citations


Cites background from "Emergent plants used in free water ..."

  • ...…also among the world’s most productive ecosystems, capable of producing relatively large quantities of biomass, depending on the type of plant used (most commonly either Phragmites australis or Typha spp.) and the climate of the location (Vymazal, 2013; Zhang et al., 2014; Mekonnen et al., 2015)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature, and constructed wetlands were concluded to be the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy.
Abstract: Due to water scarcity challenges around the world, it is essential to think about non-conventional water resources to address the increased demand in clean freshwater. Environmental and public health problems may result from insufficient provision of sanitation and wastewater disposal facilities. Because of this, wastewater treatment and recycling methods will be vital to provide sufficient freshwater in the coming decades, since water resources are limited and more than 70% of water are consumed for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the application of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation has much potential, especially when incorporating the reuse of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which are essential for plant production. Among the current treatment technologies applied in urban wastewater reuse for irrigation, wetlands were concluded to be the one of the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy. Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature. Constructed wetlands are very effective in removing organics and suspended solids, whereas the removal of nitrogen is relatively low, but could be improved by using a combination of various types of constructed wetlands meeting the irrigation reuse standards. The removal of phosphorus is usually low, unless special media with high sorption capacity are used. Pathogen removal from wetland effluent to meet irrigation reuse standards is a challenge unless supplementary lagoons or hybrid wetland systems are used.

193 citations


Cites background from "Emergent plants used in free water ..."

  • ...1), which can be combined into one single system (hybrid) to achieve a high pollutant removal efficiency (Vymazal 2013, 2014; Wu et al. 2014)....

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  • ...Moreover, constructed wetlands may also be classified according to their objectives into habitat creation, flood control, or wastewater purification, as reported in some recent studies (Vymazal 2013, 2014; Stefanakis et al. 2014)....

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  • ...However, Kadlec and Knight (1996), Kadlec et al. (2000), Langergraber et al. (2009), Knowles et al. (2011), Nivala et al. (2012), Vymazal (2013), and Wu et al. (2014) stated that surface flow and subsurface flow are considered as the main two flow types of constructed wetlands....

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  • ...For instance, a survey on common emergent macrophytes used in free water surface flow constructed was undertaken by Vymazal (2013)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the amount of heavy metals sequestered in the aboveground biomass of Phragmites australis and thus, available for harvest and removal.

162 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Proper pretreatment, inflow dilutions through re-circulated effluent, pH adjustment, plant selection and intensifications in the wetland bed, such as aeration and bioaugmentation, are recommended according to the specific characteristics of industrial effluents.

155 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Hans Brix1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarized how macrophytes influence the treatment processes in wetlands and concluded that the most important functions of the macrophyte in relation to the treatment of wastewater are the physical effects the presence of the plants gives rise to.

1,071 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Today, constructed wetlands are recognized as a reliable wastewater treatment technology and they represent a suitable solution for the treatment of many types of wastewater.
Abstract: The first experiments on the use of wetland plants to treat wastewaters were carried out in the early 1950s by Dr. Kathe Seidel in Germany and the first full-scale systems were put into operation during the late 1960s. Since then, the subsurface systems have been commonly used in Europe while free water surface systems have been more popular in North America and Australia. During the 1970s and 1980s, the information on constructed wetland technology spread slowly. But since the 1990s the technology has become international, facilitated by exchange among scientists and researchers around the world. Because of the need for more effective removal of ammonia and total nitrogen, during the 1990s and 2000s vertical and horizontal flow constructed wetlands were combined to complement each other to achieve higher treatment efficiency. Today, constructed wetlands are recognized as a reliable wastewater treatment technology and they represent a suitable solution for the treatment of many types of wastewater.

853 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Hans Brix1
TL;DR: Macrophytes stabilise the surface of the beds, provide good conditions for physical filtration, prevent vertical flow systems from clogging, insulate against frost during winter, and provide a huge surface area for attached microbial growth.

612 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The comparison of treatment efficiency of vegetated HF CWs and unplanted filters is not unanimous but most studies have shown that systems with plants achieve higher treatment efficiency.
Abstract: The presence of macrophytes is one of the most conspicuous features of wetlands and their presence distinguishes constructed wetlands from unplanted soil filters or lagoons The macrophytes growing in constructed wetlands have several properties in relation to the treatment process that make them an essential component of the design However, only several roles of macrophytes apply to constructed wetlands with horizontal subsurface flow (HF CWs) The plants used in HF CWs designed for wastewater treatment should therefore: (1) be tolerant of high organic and nutrient loadings, (2) have rich belowground organs (ie roots and rhizomes) in order to provide substrate for attached bacteria and oxygenation (even very limited) of areas adjacent to roots and rhizomes and (3) have high aboveground biomass for winter insulation in cold and temperate regions and for nutrient removal via harvesting The comparison of treatment efficiency of vegetated HF CWs and unplanted filters is not unanimous but most studies have shown that systems with plants achieve higher treatment efficiency The vegetation has mostly a positive effect, ie supports higher treatment efficiency, for organics and nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus By far the most frequently used plant around the globe is Phragmites australis (Common reed) Species of the genera Typha (latifolia, angustifolia, domingensis, orientalis and glauca) and Scirpus (eg lacustris, validus, californicus and acutus) spp are other commonly used species In many countries, and especially in the tropics and subtropics, local plants including ornamental species are used for HF CWs

542 citations

Book
28 Jul 2008
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the transformation mechanism of major nutrients and metals in WETs and describe the use of WET plants for Wastewater Treatment in Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetlands.
Abstract: The Authors.- Preface.- Introduction.- Transformation Mechanisms Of Major Nutrients And Metals In Wetlands.- Wetland Plants.- Types Of Constructed Wetlands For Wastewater Treatment.- Horizontal Flow Constructed Wetlands. Types Of Wastewater Treated In HF Constructed Wetlands.- The Use Of HF Constructed Wetlands In The World.- References.-Suggested Reading.- Subject Index.

443 citations