• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.399-416
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• 2017

The 'Wat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape' of Laos was designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage in 2001. The uppermost structure of the Sanctuary in Wat Phou has been destroyed and being variably damaged, maintenance is required through scientific and systematic diagnosis. The Sanctuary of Wat Phou was constructed mainly using sandstones and bricks. There are physical damages including fracture, break out, exfoliation and interval as well as biological damages by lichen, mosses and weeds. According to the ultrasonic velocity measurement and property evaluation of the sandstones of the Sanctuary in Wat Phou, weathering index of the eastern side sandstones is 0.10 to 0.74 (mean 0.36), showing MW grade. Southern and northern side sandstones have relatively higher properties with average weathering indices of 0.30 and 0.32. The results of slope analysis of the Sanctuary, indicated that the 4th spot in the southern side has the largest slope of $5^{\circ}W$, seemingly due to the unstable ground around the Sanctuary. Based on the relative level measurement and past drawings, the Sanctuary is verified to have been located on ground with a certain slope rather than flatland. The ground of the southern side is inclined $1.51^{\circ}$ more than that of the northern side, which will affect the structural stability of the temple. The interval width of the selected southern spot is the largest with an average width of 159.5 mm, and the largest width is 328.3 mm at the top, since the width increases above rather than below, seemingly due to the unequal subsidence of the ground. Constant maintenance for conservation is required for the structural stability of the Sanctuary in Wat Phou, which was partly collapsed and has also suffered physical damage.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.168-181
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• 2024

Constructed wetlands (CWs) deliver a range of ecosystem services, including the removal of contaminants, sequestration and storage of carbon, and enhancement of biodiversity. These services are facilitated through hydrological and ecological processes such as infiltration, adsorption, water retention, and evapotranspiration by plants and microorganisms. This study investigated the correlations between microbial populations, soil physicochemical properties, and treatment efficiency in a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSSF CW) treating runoff from roads and parking lots. The methods employed included storm event monitoring, water quality analysis, soil sampling, soil quality parameter analysis, and microbial analysis. The facility achieved its highest pollutant removal efficiencies during the warm season (>15℃), with rates ranging from 33% to 74% for TSS, COD, TN, TP, and specific heavy metals including Fe, Zn, and Cd. Meanwhile, the highest removal efficiency was 35% for TOC during the cold season (≤15℃). These high removal rates can be attributed to sedimentation, adsorption, precipitation, plant uptake, and microbial transformations within the CW. Soil analysis revealed that the soil from HSSF CW had a soil organic carbon content 3.3 times higher than that of soil collected from a nearby landscape. Stoichiometric ratios of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) in the inflow and outflow were recorded as C:N:P of 120:1.5:1 and 135.2:0.4:1, respectively, indicating an extremely low proportion of N and P compared to C, which may challenge microbial remediation efficiency. Additionally, microbial analyses indicated that the warm season was more conducive to microorganism growth, with higher abundance, richness, diversity, homogeneity, and evenness of the microbial community, as manifested in the biodiversity indices, compared to the cold season. Pollutants in stormwater runoff entering the HSSF CW fostered microbial growth, particularly for dominant phyla such as Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Bacteroidetes, which have shown moderate to strong correlations with specific soil properties and changes in influent-effluent concentrations of water quality parameters.