Zeitschrift für Geowissenschaften und Klimawandel

Abstrakt

Phosphorus Stabilization in Constructed Wetlands under Changing Hydroclimatic Conditions

Pant HK

Although there is a reduction in P reaching aquatic systems from point sources, non-point sources such as urban and agricultural runoffs are bringing substantial amounts of phosphorus (P) into aquatic systems as the storm events are quite common due to climatic changes in various parts of the world, and making eutrophication of surface water a global concern. Constructed wetlands could play important roles in stabilizing P; hence reduce eutrophication of natural aquatic and semi-aquatic ecosystems. However, the selection of the construction site may well determine the effectiveness of a constructed wetland. This study shows that P transformation in soils is crucial for P sequestration in a wetland rather than the amounts of native P. Using 31Phosphorus Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (31P NMR), previously unreported an active organic P form, phosphorarginine, was identified. This study indicates that constructing wetlands on organic P-enriched sites may not solve the P loading to water bodies as the organic P compounds would not be as stable as they were thought, thus can play a crucial role in eutrophication, after all.