Co-development of an integrated assessment framework to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of selected nature-based water treatment technologies in Sri Lanka,The Philippines,and Vietnam

Water quality is a critical challenge in Asia in the context of growing industrialization, urbanization, and climate change. Nature-based solutions (NbS) could play an important role in reducing urban water pollution, while generating multiple co-benefits that could make cities more liveable and resilient. In this regard, a number of pilot and demonstration projects have been set up to explore their potential across cities in Asia. Their effectiveness and impacts, however, have not been adequately documented, thus how they can be sustained, replicated and up-scaled remain poorly understood. This study aims to contribute to addressing this challenge by co-developing an integrated assessment framework and employing it to understand how existing evaluations of NbS in the region can be improved. It focuses specifically on a set of nature-based solutions that have been employed for water treatment across six cities in Southeast Asia (two in each Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Vietnam), namely, floating wetlands, constructed wetlands and maturation ponds. The study also suggests specific methodologies for capturing a set of core indicators considered relevant for assessing the effectiveness and capturing the multi-faceted impacts of the examined NbS.     

Backwater Confluences of the Ohio River: Organic and Inorganic Fingerprints Explain Sediment Dynamics in Wetlands and Marinas

In the Ohio River (OR), backwater confluence sedimentation dynamics are understudied, however, these river features are expected to be influential on the system’s ecological and economic function when integrated along the river’s length. In the following paper, we test the efficacy of organic and inorganic tracers for sediment fingerprinting in backwater confluences; we use fingerprinting results to evidence sediment dynamics controlling deposition patterns in confluences used for wetland and marina functions; and we quantify the spatial extent of tributary drainages with wetland and marina features in OR confluences. Both organic and inorganic tracers statistically differentiate sediment from stream and river end‐members. Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes produce greater uncertainty in fingerprinting results than inorganic elemental tracers. Uncertainty analysis of the nonconservative tracer term in the organic matter fingerprinting application estimates an apparent enrichment of the carbon stable isotopes during instream residence, and the nonconservativeness is quantified with a statistical approach unique to the fingerprinting literature. Wetland and marina features in OR confluences impact 42% and 11% of tributary drainage areas, respectively. Sediment dynamics show wetland and marina confluences experience deposition from river backwaters with longitudinally linear and nonlinear patterns, respectively, from sediment sources.     

Sulfur cycle as an electron mediator between carbon and nitrate in a constructed wetland microcosm

• Fe(III) accepted the most electrons from organics, followed by NO₃^‒, SO₄^2‒, and O₂. • The electrons accepted by SO₄^2‒ could be stored in the solid AVS, FeS₂-S, and S⁰. • The autotrophic denitrification driven by solid S had two-phase characteristics. • A conceptual model involving electron acceptance, storage, and donation was built. • S cycle transferred electrons between organics and NO₃^‒ with an efficiency of 15%. A constructed wetland microcosm was employed to investigate the sulfur cycle-mediated electron transfer between carbon and nitrate. Sulfate accepted electrons from organics at the average rate of 0.84 mol/(m³·d) through sulfate reduction, which accounted for 20.0% of the electron input rate. The remainder of the electrons derived from organics were accepted by dissolved oxygen (2.6%), nitrate (26.8%), and iron(III) (39.9%). The sulfide produced from sulfate reduction was transformed into acid-volatile sulfide, pyrite, and elemental sulfur, which were deposited in the substratum, storing electrons in the microcosm at the average rate of 0.52 mol/(m³·d). In the presence of nitrate, the acid-volatile and elemental sulfur were oxidized to sulfate, donating electrons at the average rate of 0.14 mol/(m³·d) and driving autotrophic denitrification at the average rate of 0.30 g N/(m³·d). The overall electron transfer efficiency of the sulfur cycle for autotrophic denitrification was 15.3%. A mass balance assessment indicated that approximately 50% of the input sulfur was discharged from the microcosm, and the remainder was removed through deposition (49%) and plant uptake (1%). Dominant sulfate-reducing (i.e., Desulfovirga, Desulforhopalus, Desulfatitalea, and Desulfatirhabdium) and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (i.e., Thiohalobacter, Thiobacillus, Sulfuritalea, and Sulfurisoma), which jointly fulfilled a sustainable sulfur cycle, were identified. These results improved understanding of electron transfers among carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycles in constructed wetlands, and are of engineering significance.     

Landscape consequences of aggregation rules for functional equivalence in compensatory mitigation programs

Mitigation and offset programs designed to compensate for ecosystem function losses due to development must balance losses from affected ecosystems with gains in restored ecosystems. Aggregation rules applied to ecosystem functions to assess site equivalence are based on implicit assumptions about the substitutability of functions among sites and can profoundly influence the distribution of restored ecosystem functions on the landscape. We investigated the consequences of rules applied to the aggregation of ecosystem functions for wetland offsets in the Beaverhill watershed in Alberta, Canada. We considered the fate of 3 ecosystem functions: hydrology, water purification, and biodiversity. We set up an affect‐and‐offset algorithm to simulate the effect of aggregation rules on ecosystem function for wetland offsets. Cobenefits and trade‐offs among functions and the constraints posed by the quantity and quality of restorable sites resulted in a redistribution of functions between affected and offset wetlands. Hydrology and water purification functions were positively correlated with one another and negatively correlated with biodiversity function. Weighted‐average rules did not replace functions in proportion to their weights. Rules prioritizing biodiversity function led to more monofunctional wetlands and landscapes. The minimum rule, for which the wetland score was equal to the worst performing function, promoted multifunctional wetlands and landscapes. The maximum rule, for which the wetland score was equal to the best performing function, promoted monofunctional wetlands and multifunctional landscapes. Because of implicit trade‐offs among ecosystem functions, no‐net‐loss objectives for multiple functions should be constructed within a landscape context. Based on our results, we suggest criteria for the design of aggregation rules for no net loss of ecosystem functions within a landscape context include the concepts of substitutability, cobenefits and trade‐offs, landscape constraints, heterogeneity, and the precautionary principle.     

人工湿地净化海水养殖外排水影响因素与效果实验研究

以海水养殖外排水为处理对象,构建芦苇复合垂直流人工湿地模拟系统进行处理效果的影响因素(盐度,水力负荷,污染负荷)实验。植物选择芦苇,种植密度为48株/m2,基质填料选择细纱、蛭石、高炉矿渣、沸石和砾石。实验结果显示,随着盐度的升高,人工湿地对CODMn和NH4-N的去除率差异不显著(P>0.05),对PO4-P的去除率在逐渐降低,变化显著(P<0.05),但芦苇表现出较强的耐盐性,在盐度20时生长良好。随着水力负荷的增加,人工湿地对CODMn、NH4-N和PO4-P的去除率呈现出降低的趋势,变化显著(P<0.05);而当污染负荷增加时,去除率呈现出先增加后降低的趋势。综合考虑运行合理性及运行效果,得出合理工况为盐度20,水力负荷0.4 m3/(m2.d),污染负荷CODMn 10 mg/L,NH4-N 2 mg/L,PO4-P 0.5 mg/L。在此工况下,系统稳定运行2个月,显示人工湿地对海水养殖外排水中的污染物具有较好的去除效果。     

辽宁双台河口湿地生态安全评价

受人类活动强烈干扰,河口湿地的生态安全问题日益严峻。对湿地生态安全的评价研究应遵循"人—湿地"复合系统思想,文章坚持湿地可持续发展的时空观念,突出人为因素,兼顾自然因素,评价了双台河口湿地生态安全的空间状况,具体探讨了湿地核心地带生态安全的演化机理。结果表明:辽河三角洲地区生态安全水平空间差异较大,西市区、站前区为极不安全,鲅鱼圈区为不安全区,盘山县、双台子区、兴隆台区为临界安全区,老边区、大洼县为较安全区。双台河口湿地核心区所在的大洼地区,近7年来生态安全演变态势较好,由生态临界安全上升为较安全,但仍未达到理想安全状态,与周边县区生态安全等级不高有密切关系。最后提出了双台河口湿地生态安全的对策与建议。     

人工湿地除磷存在的问题及其对策探讨

人工湿地是20世纪七八十年代发展起来的一种污水生态处理技术,能高效去除有机污染物,氮、磷等营养物,近年来得到了广泛的应用。对磷的去除不同于常规化学除磷或生化处理工艺,而是集物理化学法和生物法于一体,即通过基质、水生植物及微生物的协同作用完成。基质容易达到饱和是人工湿地除磷面临的主要问题,进水水质、水力条件、温度变化等条件也不同程度影响人工湿地的除磷效果。针对以上问题,提出了相应对策,以实现人工湿地除磷系统的稳定运行。     

滇池湖滨带湿生乔木湿地构建技术研究

采用以草本植物为主构建的湖滨湿地存在的主要问题是挺水植物繁殖速度快,生物量大,如每年不及时对死亡植株进行收割,会加快湖泊淤积速度,对湖泊水体造成二次污染;大面积湿地挺水植物的管护和收割,势必造成湿地管理强度和费用大幅提高。针对上述问题,文章重点介绍了在滇池草海湖滨带中以湿生乔木植物代替草本挺水植物的湖滨湿地构建技术现场试验研究成果,在湖滨带基底修复的基础上,选择垂柳、滇杨、中山杉、水杉、池杉和竹子等湿生植物开展现场试验,研究结果推荐适应能力较强、成活率较高和景观效果好的垂柳、中山杉为滇池湖滨带湿生乔木湿地构建的主要树种,为受损湖泊湖滨带生态修复提供借鉴。     

银川平原主要湖泊湿地水环境现状调查与分析

为了掌握和了解银川平原主要湖泊湿地的水质环境状况,对宁夏沙湖、鸣翠湖、星海湖、阅海湖、鹤泉湖等湿地开展了水质现状调查和分析研究,结果表明,这些湖泊湿地都受到污染,沙湖、星海湖和鸣翠湖的水质受到轻度污染,水质根据地表水环境质量标准分类为IV类,鹤泉湖和阅海湖的水质受到中度污染,水之类别为V类。该研究为湿地资源保护与合理利用提供科学依据,对宁夏经济协调发展提供科技支撑。     

湖滨湿地恢复方案研究综述

在查阅国内外湖滨湿地恢复资料的基础上,以恢复湿地水质净化和野生动物栖息地功能为双重目的,整理形成了适用于我国富营养湖泊湖滨湿地的恢复方案,从恢复湿地的设计、恢复的前期处理、恢复过程中的植物种植与管理、恢复后的维护管理和生态监测等5个阶段进行了恢复技术的综述与探讨。