Calculating nitrogen-removal efficiency with a one-dimensional nitrogen budget model of a reed-wetland soil system

Abstract

A simple one-dimensional model that can evaluate the transport and fate of nitrogen in wetland soil-vegetation systems was developed to calculate the nitrogen-removal efficiencies of reed-bed wetlands. A common wetland plant, Phragmites australis, was the focus of this study. Seasonal variations of temperature, seasonal changes of nitrogen uptake by vegetation, the vertical distribution of root biomasses and oxygen transport into the soil by vegetation were considered in the model. Field observations were conducted to determine some model parameters and to validate the model, although most of the parameters were adopted from data published in Europe and North America. Field observations were carried out at the Minuma-Tanbo wetland (35 degrees 52' N, 139 degrees 43' E) in Japan. The calculated concentrations of NH4-N in the soils were about 10 times larger than those of the observational results. On the other hand, calculated NO3-N concentrations were about half of the observational data. However, the calculated nitrogen-removal efficiencies indicated the same trends as previous studies. It was found that the hydraulic loading rate played a key role in relation to nitrogen removal and nitrogen transformation in reed wetland systems.