Temporal variability of iron concentrations and fractions in wetland waters in Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

Chemical forms, reactivities and transformation of iron fractions in marshy waters were investigated with cross-flow filtration technique to study the iron environmental behavior. Iron fractions were divided into four parts： acid-labile iron （pre-acidification of unfiltered marshy water samples, 〉 0.7 μm）, high-molecular-weight iron （0.7-0.05 μm）, medium-molecular-weight iron （0.05-0.01 μm）, and low-molecular-weight iron （〈 0.01μm）. The cross-flow filtration suggested that iron primarily exist in both the 〉 0.7 μm and 〈 0.01 μm size fractions in marshy waters. Rainfall is the key for rain-fed wetland to determine fate of iron by changing the aquatic biochemical conditions. By monitoring the variation of iron concentrations and fractions over three years, it was found that dissolved iron and acid-labile iron concentrations exhibit a large variation extent under different annual rainfalls from 2006 to 2008. The seasonal variation for iron species proved that the surface temperature could control some conversion reactions of iron in marshy waters. Low- molecular-weight iron would convert to acid-labile iron gradually with temperature decreasing. The photochemical reactions of iron fractions, especially low-molecular-weight iron had occurred under solar irradiation. The relative proportion of low-molecular-weight in total dissolved iron ranging from 28.3% to 43.2% were found during the day time, which proved that the observed decreasing concentration of acid lability iron was caused by its degradation to low molecular weight iron.

Avian influenza virus ecology in wild birds of Western Siberia

Background:The aim of the study was to explore the ecological diversity of wild birds in Siberia, which are the natural reservoir of avian influenza virus(AIV).Methods:Cloacal swabs and intestinal fragments were collected from wild migratory birds from 2007-2014. Isolated viruses were grown in the allantoic cavity of embryonated chicken eggs. The presence of virus was determined using hemagglutination assays. Primary identification and subtyping of influenza viruses was confirmed by RT-PCR.Results:A total of 2300 samples obtained from wild migratory birds of 8 orders were collected and tested. Influenza was detected in 185 birds of 3 orders. Species of family Anatidae(order Anseriformes) such as European Teal(Anas crecca), Garganey Teal(A. querquedula), and Shoveler(A. clypeata) play the main role in AIV circulation in the south of Western Siberia. The proportion of viral carriers among waterfowl ranged from 5.6 to 20% in 2007-2014. The order Charadriiformes had lower virus isolation rates of not more than 1.4%.Conclusions:Wild migratory waterfowl of orders Anseriformes and Charadriiformes are the main reservoir of AIV in the south of Western Siberia. This area plays a key role in persistence, evolution, and geographical distribution of avian influenza.

Characteristics of contaminants in water and sediment of a constructed wetland treating piggery wastewater effluent

Constructed wetland （CW） is the preferred means of controlling water quality because of its natural treatment mechanisms and function as a secondary or tertiary treatment unit. CW is increasingly applied in Korea for secondary effluent of livestock wastewater treatment. This study was conducted to recognize the characteristics of contaminants in the accumulated sediment at the bottom soil layer and to reduce the phosphorus release from sediments of the free water surface CW for the treatment of secondary piggery wastewater effluent from a livestock wastewater treatment facility. The results revealed that the dominant phosphorus existence types at near the inlet of the CW were non-apatite phosphorus （59%） and residual phosphorus （32%） suggesting that most of the particles of the influent are made up of inorganic materials and dead cells. Sediment accumulation is important when determining the long-term maintenance requirements over the lifetime of CW. Continuous monitoring will be performed for a further assessment of the CW system and design.

Microtopographic modification conserves urban wetland water quality by increasing the dissolved oxygen in the wet season

Microtopography affects hydrological processes and forms different microhabitats.Our previous study uncovered that riparian zone microtopography created various microhabitats with different soil environments and runoff-infiltration patterns.However,how riparian microtopography and microtopography within the water area(waterfall and tributary)affects downstream water quality remains unclear.Therefore,water samples were taken almost monthly in both the main stream and the tributary,before and after waterfalls,and near the bottom of three microtopographic types from June 2016 to March 2017.Compared with the dry season,the fact that water quality worsened in the wet season and that there were positive correlations for nitrate(NO3-)between water and the corresponding soil samples suggested that the riparian-soil environment affected the adjacent water quality mainly in the wet season.Nevertheless,riparian microtopography did not influence water quality downstream because of the low rainfall frequency and the weak leaching process due to plant interception.In the wet season,both the tributary and the waterfall increased the dissolved oxygen in the water body and,therefore,lowered the risk of eutrophication.The tributary has two pathways for improving the water quality,by increased disturbance and flow velocity,while the waterfall only has the former.However,such effects were not significant in the dry season.We conclude that the application of microtopographic modification is useful in maintaining urban wetland water quality in wet seasons.

Hybrid constructed wetlands for highly polluted river water treatment and comparison of surface-and subsurface-flow cells

A series of large pilot constructed wetland （CW） systems were constructed near the confluence of an urban stream to a larger fiver in Xi＇an, a northwestern megacity in China, for treating polluted stream water before it entered the receiving water body. Each CW system is a combination of surface- and subsurface-flow cells with local gravel, sand or slag as substrates and Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis as plants. During a one-year operation with an average surface loading of 0.053 m3/（m2.day）, the overall COD, BOD, NH3-N, total nitrogen （TN） and total phosphorus （TP） removals were 72.7% ~ 4.5%, 93.4% ＋ 2.1%, 54.0% ＋ 6.3%, 53.9% ~ 6.0% and 69.4% ：t： 4.6%, respectively, which brought about an effective improvement of the fiver water quality. Surface-flow cells showed better NH3-N removal than their TN removal while subsurface-flow cells showed better TN removal than their NH3-N removal. Using local slag as the substrate, the organic and phosphorus removal could be much improved. Seasonal variation was also found in the removal of all the pollutants and autumn seemed to be the best season for pollutant removal due to the moderate water temperature and well grown plants in the CWs.

Performance of pond–wetland complexes as a preliminary processor of drinking water sources

Shijiuyang Constructed Wetland（110 hm^2） is a drinking water source treatment wetland with primary structural units of ponds and plant-bed/ditch systems. The wetland can process about 250,000 tonnes of source water in the Xincheng River every day and supplies raw water for Shijiuyang Drinking Water Plant. Daily data for 28 months indicated that the major water quality indexes of source water had been improved by one grade. The percentage increase for dissolved oxygen and the removal rates of ammonia nitrogen, iron and manganese were 73.63%, 38.86%, 35.64%, and 22.14% respectively. The treatment performance weight of ponds and plant-bed/ditch systems was roughly equal but they treated different pollutants preferentially. Most water quality indexes had better treatment efficacy with increasing temperature and inlet concentrations. These results revealed that the pond–wetland complexes exhibited strong buffering capacity for source water quality improvement. The treatment cost of Shijiuyang Drinking Water Plant was reduced by about 30.3%. Regional rainfall significantly determined the external river water levels and adversely deteriorated the inlet water quality, thus suggesting that the ＂hidden＂ diffuse pollution in the multitudinous stream branches as well as their catchments should be the controlling emphases for river source water protection in the future. The combination of pond and plant-bed/ditch systems provides a successful paradigm for drinking water source pretreatment. Three other drinking water source treatment wetlands with ponds and plant-bed/ditch systems are in operation or construction in the stream networks of the Yangtze River Delta and more people will be benefited.

Relationships of nitrous oxide fluxes with water quality parameters in free water surface constructed wetlands

The effects of chemical oxygen demand(COD)concentration in the influent on nitrous oxide(N_(2)O)emissions,together with the relationships between N_(2)O and water quality parameters in free water surface constructed wetlands,were investigated with laboratoryscale systems.N_(2)O emission and purification performance of wastewater were very strongly dependent on COD concentration in the influent,and the total N_(2)O emission in the system with middle COD influent concentration was the least.The relationships between N_(2)O and the chemical and physical water quality variables were studied by using principal component scores in multiple linear regression analysis to predict N_(2)O flux.The multiple linear regression model against principal components indicated that different water parameters affected N_(2)O flux with different COD concentrations in the influent,but nitrate nitrogen affected N_(2)O flux in all systems.

Contaminant removal from low-concentration polluted river water by the bio-rack wetlands

The bio-rack is a new approach for treating low-concentration polluted river water in wetland systems.A comparative study of the efficiency of contaminant removal between four plant species in bio-rack wetlands and between a bio-rack system and control system was conducted on a small-scale （500 mm length × 400 mm width × 400 mm height） to evaluate the decontamination effects of four different wetland plants.There was generally a significant difference in the removal of total nitrogen （TN）,ammonia nitrogen （NH 3-N） and total phosphorus （TP）,but no significant difference in the removal of permanganate index （COD Mn） between the bio-rack wetland and control system.Bio-rack wetland planted with Thalia dealbata had higher nutrient removal rates than wetlands planted with other species.Plant fine-root （root diameter 3 mm） biomass rather than total plant biomass was related to nutrient removal efficiency.The study suggested that the nutrient removal rates are influenced by plant species,and high fine-root biomass is an important factor in selecting highly effective wetland plants for a bio-rack system.According to the mass balance,the TN and TP removal were in the range of 61.03-73.27 g/m^2 and 4.14-5.20 g/m^2 in four bio-rack wetlands during the whole operational period.The N and P removal by plant uptake constituted 34.9%-43.81% of the mass N removal and 62.05%-74.81% of the mass P removal.The study showed that the nitrification/denitrification process and plant uptake process are major removal pathways for TN,while plant uptake is an effective removal pathway for TP.

Vertical characteristics of the Hani terrace paddyfield ecosystem in Yunnan,China

The Hani terrace paddyfield in Yunnan Province,China is categorized as a‘constructed wetland’under the Lamsar Convention classification.The Hani terrace paddyfield ranges from an altitude of 144 to 2000 m above sea level(ASL)in the southern slopes of the Ailao Mountains,angling down at a range of 15°to 75°.In this study,we investigated the ecosystem of the terrace paddyfields in the Mengpin and Quanfuzhuang administrative villages located at the center of the cultural heritage conservation district in the Hani terrace paddy-field.The Hani terrace paddyfield ecosystem structure is"forest-village-terrace paddyfield-river"in the order of descending altitude.Soil and water samples were sequen-tially taken from forests,villages and the terrace paddy-fields to be able to study the vertical characteristics of Hani’s terrace paddyfields.PO_(4)-P and NH_(3)-N in water were measured to test for water contamination.Seven soil nutrient factors were tested,including organic material(OM),char and nitrogen ratio(C/N),pH,total nitrogen(TN),total phosphorus(TP),available phosphorus(AP),and available potassium(AK).Soil quality was also eval-uated using the characteristics of the soil nutrient factors.Vertical changes in the landscape,wetland types,wetland plants,hydrology and soil nutrients were characterized.Results showed that:(1)Hani’s terrace paddyfield can be divided into five types of wetlands;the rice varieties and cultivation patterns vary in each type of wetland.(2)Hani’s terrace paddyfield has a great capacity for water conservation and a strong ability to purify contaminants.The impoundage of Hani’s terrace paddyfield is about 5050 m^(3)/hm^(2).Contaminants in the terrace paddyfield soils decrease exponentially with the decline in altitude.(3)Comparison of soil quality in five different land use types indicates decreasing soil quality from forest to terrace land to terrace paddyfield to water source.Except for headwater soil,single factors such as OM,TN and TP,and the comprehensive soil quality in individual sampling zones tend to increase with altitude elevation.Comprehensive soil quality in the Quanfuzhuang sampling zone is better than in the Mengpin sampling zone.Finally,a comparison of Hani’s terrace paddyfield with plain paddyfields and natural wetlands highlighted the vertical characteristics of Hani’s terrace paddyfield.