Mitigation of nutrient leaching from bioretention systems using amendments

Zhang, Yihui

Mitigation of nutrient leaching from bioretention systems using amendments

dc.contributor.advisor	He, Jianxun (Jennifer)
dc.contributor.author	Zhang, Yihui
dc.contributor.committeemember	Chu, Angus
dc.contributor.committeemember	Huang, Wendy
dc.date	2023-11
dc.date.accessioned	2023-07-18T20:39:23Z
dc.date.available	2023-07-18T20:39:23Z
dc.date.issued	2023-07
dc.description.abstract	Bioretention systems have been showcased to be effective in reducing stormwater quantity and improving stormwater quality. However, the systems can also leach nutrients, especially during their initial operation, which needs to be mitigated to optimize their benefits. To examine the efficiency of six amendments selected primarily for reducing phosphorus (P) leaching, six amended and two control cells were constructed and monitored soon after their construction in the field of the 2020 growing season. The effects of the amendments on both the hydrological performance (in terms of water retention rate (WRR)) and water quality performance (in terms of the event mean concentration and pollutant removal rate) were investigated. The results showed that all amendments had the capability of preventing or mitigating P leaching from bioretention systems to varying degrees, with the water treatment residual (WTR) outperforming all other amendments, followed by the activated aluminum (AA) and sorptiveMEDIA (SM) amendments. In addition, some of the amendments (i.e., drywall (DRY), WTR, and SM) were also found to be beneficial in reducing the nitrogen (N) leaching to a slight degree, whereas eggshell (EGG) introduced an extra source of N leached. Furthermore, the temporal evolution of the P leaching of the amendment cells was found to be different from that of the control cells. The same result was not observed for the temporal evolution of the N leaching, implying that the amendments (except EGG) did not largely affect the N leaching. Among the amendments’ effect on WRR, there was no obvious difference. Whereas the observed differences between the control cells and some amendment cells in vegetation growth and antecedent media moisture condition might imply their potential impacts on the hydrologic performance. Overall, other than P leaching, the use of amendments affected other functions of bioretention systems, which should be taken into consideration when selecting an amendment for practice.
dc.identifier.citation	Zhang, Y. (2023). Mitigation of nutrient leaching from bioretention systems using amendments (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/116759
dc.identifier.uri	https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/41601
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Graduate Studies
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Bioretention
dc.subject	Nutrient leaching
dc.subject	Amendments
dc.subject.classification	Environmental Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Engineering--Environmental
dc.title	Mitigation of nutrient leaching from bioretention systems using amendments
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Engineering – Civil
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.