A Modeling Approach: Effects of Wetland Plants on the Fate of Metal Species in the Sediments

A mathematical model was developed to understand how the presence of plants affects vertical profiles of electron acceptors, their reduced species, and trace metals in the wetland sediments. The model accounted for biodegradation of organic matter utilizing sequential electron acceptors and subsequent chemical reactions using stoichiometric relationship. These biogeochemical reactions were affected by the combined effects of oxygen release and evapotranspiration driven by wetland plants. The measured data showed that $SO_4{^{2-}}$ concentrations increased at the beginning of the growing season and then gradually decreased. Based on the measured data, it was hypothesized that the limitation of the solid phase sulfide in direct contact with the roots may result in the gradual decrease of $SO_4{^{2-}}$ concentrations. With the dynamic formulation for the limitation of the solid phase sulfide, model simulated time variable sulfate profiles using published model parameters. Oxygen release from roots produced divalent metal species (i.e. $Cd^{2+}$) as well as oxidized sulfur species (i.e. $SO_4{^{2-}}$) in the sediment pore water. Evapotranspiration-induced advection increased flux of divalent metal species from the overlying water column into the rhizosphere. The increased divalent metal species were converted to the metal sulfide with sufficient FeS around the rhizosphere, which contributed to the decrease of bioavailability and toxicity of divalent metal activity in the pore water. Since the divalent metal activity is a good predictor of the metal bioavailability, this model with a proper simulation of solid phase sulfide plays an essential role to predict the dynamics of trace metals in the wetland sediments.

퇴적물에서 금속 이온 거동에 미치는 습지 식물의 영향에 관한 모델 연구