See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: Treatment Wetland Nutrient Removalthrough Vegetation Harvest and Observationsfrom a Field StudyARTICLE in ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING · MAY 2014Impact Factor: 2.58 · DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.05.018CITATIONS5READS1574 AUTHORS, INCLUDING:Chih-Yu WangNational Taipei University13 PUBLICATIONS 29 CITATIONS SEE PROFILEDavid James SampleVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni…53 PUBLICATIONS 177 CITATIONS SEE PROFILESusan D DayVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni…41 PUBLICATIONS 291 CITATIONS SEE PROFILEAll in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate,letting you access and read them immediately.Available from: David James SampleRetrieved on: 05 March 2016Pleasecitethisarticleinpressas:Wang,C.-Y.,etal.,Floatingtreatmentwetlandnutrientremovalthroughvegetationharvestandobservationsfromafieldstudy.Ecol.Eng.(2014),(2014)xxx–xxxContentslistsavailableatScienceDirectEcologicalEngineeringjournalhomepage:fieldstudyChih-YuWanga,DavidJ.Sampleb,∗,SusanD.Dayc,ThomasJ.GrizzarddaEcologicalEngineeringResearchCenter,NationalTaiwanUniversity,No.1,Sec.4,RooseveltRoad,TaipeiCity106,TaiwanbDepartmentofBiologicalSystemsEngineering,HamptonRoadsAgriculturalResearchandExtensionCenter,VirginiaPolytechnicInstituteandStateUniversity,1444DiamondSpringsRoad,VirginiaBeach,VA23455,USAcDepartmentofForestResourcesandEnvironmentalConservation,VirginiaPolytechnicInstituteandStateUniversity,307-DCheathamHall,310WestCampusDr.,Blacksburg,VA24061,USAdDepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineering,OccoquanWatershedLaboratory,VirginiaPolytechnicInstituteandStateUniversity,9408PrinceWilliamStreet,Manassas,VA20110,USAarticleinfoArticlehistory:Received2November2013Receivedinrevisedform20May2014Accepted22May2014AvailableonlinexxxKeywords:PhosphorusremovalSustainabilityUrbanwetpondPickerelweed(PontederiacordataL.)Softstembulrush(Schoenoplectustabernaemontani)Yellowiris(Irispseudacorus)abstractNonpointsourcepollutionfromurbanareashasbeenidentifiedasaleadingcontributortoimpairedwaterquality.Floatingtreatmentwetlands(FTWs)arecultivatedplantsgrowingonfloatingmatsinopenwater.FTWscanbeusedtoremovepollutantsfromrunoff,butdataontheireffectivenessislimited.WeconductedafieldstudyofFTWsinanutrientenrichedurbanwetpondtoinvestigatevegetationbiomassandphosphorus(P)accumulation/distribution,sustainabilityundericeencasementstress(whichisaconcernintemperateregions),andtoassesstheuseoftheFTWbyspecies.Plantedperennialmacro-phytessuccessfullyadaptedtostressesofthelowdissolvedoxygen(DO)concentrations(minimum:1.2mg/L)insummer,iceencasementinwinter,andrelativelylownutrientconcentrationsinthewater(median:0.15mg/LTPand1.15mg/LTN).PickerelweedproducedmorebiomassanddemonstratedhigherPremovalperformance(10.44gdryweight/plantand7.58mgP/plant)thansoftstembulrush(2.20gdryweight/plantand1.62mgP/plant).BasedontheobservedseasonalchangesinbiomassandP,werecom-mendharvestofabove-groundvegetationisconductedinJuneformaximumPremovalorinSeptembertopreventPreleaseduetosenescence.Submergedtissuesofpickerelweed,softstembulrush,andyellowiris(Irispseudacorus)survivediceencasementandregrewinthesecondyear.Additionally,plantdiversityincreasedduringthestudyperiodthroughrecruitmentofbothnativeandexoticwetlandplants.System-aticobservationofwildlifeactivitiesindicatedeightclassesoforganismsinhabiting,foraging,breeding,nursing,orrestingintheFTWs.Thisstudysuggestsabove-groundplantharvestcanenhancePremoval,andthatsoftstembulrush,yellowiris,andpickerelweedcanbesustainedoverwinterontheFTW.FuturestudyisrecommendedtoinvestigatethefeasibilityofmultiplevegetationharvestanddocumentthepossiblehabitatcreationbytheuseofFTWs.©2014ElsevierB.V.Allrightsreserved.Abbreviations:A/Bratio,above/below-groundratio;BMP,bestmanagementpractice;Chl-a,chlorophylla;DO,dissolvedoxygen;DW,dryweight;FTW,floatingtreatmentwetland;N,nitrogen;NH4+N,ammonianitrogen;NOxN,nitrite–nitratenitrogen;NPS,nonpointsource;OPP,orthophosphate;Org-N,Organicnitrogen;P,phosphorus;TN,totalnitrogen;TP,totalphosphorus;TPP,totalparticulatephosphorus;TSI,trophicstateindex.∗Correspondingauthor.Tel.:+17033633835.E-mailaddresses:cywang.ee@gmail.com(C.-Y.Wang),dsample@vt.edu(D.J.Sample),sdd@vt.edu(S.D.Day),tgrizzar@vt.edu(T.J.Grizzard).1.IntroductionUrbandevelopmentincreasesthetransportofnutrients,metals,andotherpollutantstostreamsandotherreceivingwatersthroughthecreationofimpervioussurfaces.Nutrients,nitrogen(N)andphosphorus(P)arerequiredbyalllivingthingsforsurvival.How-ever,excessivenutrientscandamagebioticintegrityandincreasetherateofeutrophicationinrivers,lakes,estuaries,andcoastalwatersonaglobalbasis(Andersonetal.,2002;Dodds,2010).Non-pointsource(NPS)pollutionfromu