Investigation into Heterotrophic Activities and Algal Biomass in Surface Flow Stormwater Wetlands

Authors: Wendong Tao

Abstract:

Stormwater wetlands have been mainly designed in an empirical approach for water quality improvement, with little quantitative understanding of the internal microbial processes. This study investigated into heterotrophic bacterial production rate, heterotrophic bacterial mineralization percentage, and algal biomass in hypertrophic and eutrophic surface flow stormwater wetlands. Compared to a nearby wood leachate treatment wetland, the stormwater wetlands had much higher chlorophyll-a concentrations. The eutrophic stormwater wetland had improved water quality, whereas the hypertrophic stormwater wetland had degraded water quality. Heterotrophic bacterial activities in water were limited in the stormwater wetlands due to competition of algal growth for nutrients. The relative contribution of biofilms to the overall heterotrophic activities was higher in the stormwater wetlands than that in the wood leachate treatment wetland.

Keywords: chlorophyll-a, constructed wetland, heterotrophicproduction, mineralization, stormwater

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1062376

References:

[1] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Considerations in the Design of Treatment Best Management Practices (BMPs) to Improve Water Quality. EPA/600/R-03/103. Cincinnati, OH: USEPA, 2002.
[2] J. N. Carleton, T. J. Grizzard, A. N. Godrej, and H. E. Post, "Factors affecting the performance of stormwater treatment wetlands," Water Research, vol. 35, no. 6, pp. 1552-1562, 2001.
[3] R. H. Kadlec, and S. D. Wallace, Treatment wetlands, 2nd ed. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, 2009.
[4] S. Toet, L. H. F. A. Huibers, R. S. P. van Logtestijn, and J. T. A. Verhoeven, "Denitrification in the periphyton associated with plant shoots and in the sediment of a wetland system supplied with sewage treatment plant effluent," Hydrobiologia, vol. 501, no. 1, pp. 29-44, 2003.
[5] S. Bourgues, and B. T. H. Hart, "Nitrogen removal capacity of wetlands: Sediment versus epiphytic biofilms," Water Science and Technology, vol. 55, no. 4, pp. 175-182, 2007.
[6] M. A. Moran, and R. E. Hodson, "Contributions of three subsystems of a freshwater marsh to total bacterial secondary productivity," Microbial Ecology, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 161-170, 1992.
[7] W. Tao, and K. Hall, "Dynamics and influencing factors of heterotrophic bacterial utilization of acetate in constructed wetlands treating woodwaste leachate," Water Research, vol. 38, no. 13-14, pp. 3442-3448, 2004.
[8] W. Tao, K. Hall, and S. Duff, "Heterotrophic bacterial activities and treatment performance of surface flow constructed wetlands receiving woodwaste leachate," Water Environment Research, vol. 78, no. 7, pp. 671-679, 2006.
[9] D. F. Toerien, and M. C. Toerien, "Microbial heterotrophy in an effluent treatment system using macrophytes," Agricultural Wastes, vol. 12, no. 4, pp. 287-312, 1985.
[10] C. Polprasert, N. R. Khatiwada, and J. Bhurtel, "A model for organic matter removal in free water surface constructed wetlands," Water Science and Technology, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 369-377, 1998.
[11] C. L. M. Steenbergen, R. A. J.-P. Sweerts, and T. E. Cappenberg, "Microbial biogeochemical activities in lakes: stratification and eutrophication," in Aquatic microbiology: An ecological approach, T. E. Ford, Ed. Boston, MA: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1993, pp. 69-99.
[12] V. Kisand, and T. Noges, "Abiotic and biotic factors regulating dynamics of bacterioplankton in a large shallow lake," FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 50, no. 1, pp. 51-62, 2004.
[13] Environment Canada, Canadian Climate Normals or Averages 1971- 2000. http://climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca/climate_normals/index_e.html, last modified on November 1, 2008.
[14] American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association (AWWA), and World Environment Federation (WEF), Standard methods for theEexamination of Water and Wastewater, 20th ed. Washington DC, USA: APHA, AWWA, and WEF, 1998.
[15] S.-O. Ryding, and W. Rast, The control of Eutrophication of Lakes and Reservoirs. Paris, France: UNESCO, 1989.
[16] R. F. Mueller, "Bacterial transport and colonization in low nutrient environments," Water Research, vol. 30, no. 11, pp. 2681-2690, 1996.
[17] D. C. White, R. D. Kirkegaard, R. J. Palmer Jr., C. A. Flemming, G. Chen, K. T. Leung, C. B. Phiefer, and A. A. Arrage, "The biofilm ecology of microbial biofouling, biocide resistance and corrosion," in Biofilms in the Aquatic Environment, C. W. Keevil, A. Godfree, D. Holt, and C. Dow, Eds. Cambridge, UK: The Royal Society of Chemistry, pp. 120-130, 1999.
[18] J. J. Cole, S. Findlay, and M. L. Pace, "Bacterial production in fresh and salt-water ecosystems: a cross-system overview," Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 43, pp. 1-10, 1988.