Journal article
Developing simple indicators of nitrogen and phosphorus removal in constructed stormwater wetlands
Christopher Szota, Alistair Danger, Peter J Poelsma, Belinda E Hatt, Robert B James, Alison Rickard, Matthew J Burns, Frederic Cherqui, Vaughn Grey, Rhys A Coleman, Tim D Fletcher
Science of the Total Environment | Elsevier | Published : 2024
Abstract
Quantifying pollutant removal by stormwater wetlands requires intensive sampling which is cost-prohibitive for authorities responsible for a large number of wetlands. Wetland managers require simple indicators that provide a practical means of estimating performance and prioritising maintenance works across their asset base. We therefore aimed to develop vegetation cover and metrics derived from monitoring water level, as simple indicators of likely nutrient pollutant removal from stormwater wetlands. Over a two-year period, we measured vegetation cover and water levels at 17 wetlands and used both to predict nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal. Vegetation cover explained 48 % of variati..
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Grants
Awarded by ARC Industry Laureate Fellowship
Awarded by Australian Research Council
Funding Acknowledgements
This research was funded by Melbourne Water. Melbourne Water partially supported the salaries of CS, PP, RJ and MB. AD, BH, AR, VG and RC were Melbourne Water employees. Fletcher was supported by an ARC Industry Laureate Fellowship (IL230100020) . We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of Claudia Nicklason, Fern Yong and Genevieve Hehir in the field and Tina Hines from the Water Studies Laboratory at Monash University for water quality analysis. Jasper Kunapo contributed GIS expertise in delineating wetland catchment boundaries and calculating impervious metrics. Michael O'Hagan (Melbourne Water) curated and supplied all rainfall data. Marcus Jakovljevic and Michael Orfanos (GHD Pty Ltd) conducted spatial analysis of vegetation cover. We also thank the larger Melbourne Water project team, supported by Darren Bos and Boba Stojkovic: Birgit Jordan, Michael Flanagan, Anup Phaiju and Andrew Camenzuli. We also acknowledge the support of Kathryn Hassell, Claudette Kellar, Monica Tewman and Vin Pettigrove (A3P, RMIT University) .