Abstract
The implementation of nature-based solutions (NBSs) can be a suitable and sustainable approach to coping with environmental issues related to diffuse water pollution from agriculture. NBSs exploit natural mitigation processes that can promote the removal of different contaminants from agricultural wastewater, and they can also enable the recovery of otherwise lost resources (i.e., nutrients). Among these, nitrogen impacts different ecosystems, resulting in serious environmental and human health issues. Recent research activities have investigated the capability of NBS to remove nitrogen from polluted water. However, the regulating mechanisms for nitrogen removal can be complex, since a wide range of decontamination pathways, such as plant uptake, microbial degradation, substrate adsorption and filtration, precipitation, sedimentation, and volatilization, can be involved. Investigating these processes is beneficial for the enhancement of the performance of NBSs. The present study provides a comprehensive review of factors that can influence nitrogen removal in different types of NBSs, and the possible strategies for nitrogen recovery that have been reported in the literature.
Highlights
Fertilizers have the potential to provide essential plant macro- and micro-nutrients, ensuring crop growth and yield [1]
constructed wetlands (CWs) consist of planted beds filled with appropriate substrates and occupied by microbial communities needed for their operation
nitrous oxide (N2 O) produced is further reduced to N2 [72], whereas for a CW located in France it was calculated that the N2 O emitted into the atmosphere was only 9% of the potential emission in sediments [73]
Summary
Fertilizers have the potential to provide essential plant macro- and micro-nutrients, ensuring crop growth and yield [1]. NBSs can help with wastewater treatment and management, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems, which address societal water storage, drinking water provision, groundwater recharge, coastal protection, and challenges effectively and adaptively, simultaneously providing human well-being and agricultural practice, ensuring the provision of ecosystem services and a wide range of biodiversity benefits” [16]. NBSs can help with wastewater treatment and management, water storage, drinking water provision, groundwater recharge, coastal protection, and agricultural practice, ensuring the provision of ecosystem services and a wide range of other environmental benefits (Figure 2) [17], since they simulate natural processes without further inputs of energy or chemicals. Possible methods of N recovery that would enable its later reuse in agriculture are discussed
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