wAbstract
@Phosphate from agricultural runoff is a major contributor to
eutrophication in aquatic systems. Vegetated drainage ditches
lining agricultural fields have been investigated for their potential
to mitigate runoff, acting similarly to a wetland as they filter
contaminants. It is hypothesized that some aquatic macrophytes
will be more effective at removing phosphate than others. In a
mesocosm study, three aquatic macrophyte species, cutgrass (Leersia
oryzoides), cattail (Typha latifolia), and bur-reed
(Sparganium americanum), were investigated for their ability
to mitigate phosphate from water. Mesocosms were exposed to flowing
phosphate-enriched water (10 mg L3-) for 6h, left stagnant
for 42 h, and then flushed with non-nutrient enriched water for
an additional 6 h to simulate flushing effects of a second storm
event. Both L. oryzoides and T. latifolia decreased
the load of dissolved phosphate (DP) in outflows by greater than
50, significantly more than S. americanum, which only
decreased DP by 15}6 (p
0.002). All treatments decreased concentrations
inside mesocosms by 90 or more after 1 week, though the decrease
occurred more rapidly in T. latifolia and L. oryzoides
mesocosms. By discovering which species are better at mitigating
phosphate in agricultural runoff, planning the community composition
of vegetation in drainage ditches and constructed wetlands can
be improved for optimal remediation results.
Keywords: Phosphate; Phytoremediation; Mesocosmsx
1. Introduction
2. Materials and methods
@2.1. Experimental setup
@2.2. Simulated runoff
@2.3. Sample collection and analysis
@2.4. Statistical analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
References