• 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.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 1984

This study was conducted to investigate characteristics of nonpoint pollutant discharges and concentrations in runoff from the urban and agricultural areas in Korea. The analytical parameters used for this study were COD, BOD and SS. This study was conducted during the period from May to August 1981. Nonpoint pollutant mass loadings from the urban area were influenced by the rainfall intensity and the duration of rainfall, and etc. The concentrations of pollutants in the first flush was higher as the discharges increased. It was, however, found that the concentrations of pollutants in the heavy storm runoff were decreased due to the dilution effect. When other rainfall followed a peak rainfall, the concentrations of pollutants were lower than expected, because the first flush conveyed the most of pollutants deposited on the combined sewers. However the concentrations were increased in proportion to the increased flow when a rainfall of higher intensity than the first flush was continued. Yearly area yield rates in kg/ha were estimated to be 690.5(489.9~1,328) of COD, 319.7(226.8~614.8) of BOD, and 831.2(589.7~1,598) of SS. Pollutant sources in agricultural area were of the domestic waste water, manure composting stack, and agricultural solid wastes and etc. In the paddy field, yearly area yield rates in kg/ha were estimated to be 623.4(21.7~114) of COD, 18.65(9.53~34.5) of BOD, and 91.9(46.3~171.8) of SS. In the crop land, however, yearly rates in kg/ha were estimated to be 91.9(46.3~171.8) of COD, 23.09(11.7~42.5) of BOD, and 23.09(11.4~43.4) of SS. Pollutant sources in the feedlot area were originating from the feces of cattle, the cleaning water, the wastes spilled from manure composting stack during rain. Yearly area yield rate in kg/ha was estimated to be 3.804(2,489~6,658) of COD, 2.047(464~2,900) of BOD, and 1.149 (729~1,442) of SS. Pollutant discharges in the forest area were resulted from the organic layer like leaves and others deposited on the surface. Yearly area yield rate in kg/ha was estimated to be 9.86(5.45~18.56) of COD, 3.48(1.67~7.54) of BOD, and 4.64(9.74~10.35) of SS.