D4.2: Risk Assessment for Wetland Sediment Applications on Agricultural Land : WP4 Nutrient Recovery from Streams
Zhang, Linus LU
(2023)
- Abstract
- This deliverable reports on Risk Assessment for Wetland Sediment Applications on Agricultural Land. The main content is a thorough and critical evaluation (literature review) of the wetland coupled agriculture and the related concerns such as nutrients, sediments and contamination risks. This will also be supported by the two case studies.
Constructed wetlands act as traps for substances carried with the inflow, thereby decreasing the environmental impact of nutrients on downstream aquatic systems. As bottom sediments build up over time, they eventually have to be removed in order to keep the functionality of the constructed wetland. One alternative use of removed sediments is to spread it on agricultural land, thereby increasing... (More) - This deliverable reports on Risk Assessment for Wetland Sediment Applications on Agricultural Land. The main content is a thorough and critical evaluation (literature review) of the wetland coupled agriculture and the related concerns such as nutrients, sediments and contamination risks. This will also be supported by the two case studies.
Constructed wetlands act as traps for substances carried with the inflow, thereby decreasing the environmental impact of nutrients on downstream aquatic systems. As bottom sediments build up over time, they eventually have to be removed in order to keep the functionality of the constructed wetland. One alternative use of removed sediments is to spread it on agricultural land, thereby increasing environmental sustainability of the agro-food system. A potential risk with this method is that pollutants, such as metals, also accumulate in the sediment and may contaminate the soil after spreading. In this report we provide information and recommendations with respect to such risks.
The function of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is similar in principle to that of a wetland. In a WWTP the unwanted components in the incoming water are separated from the water, which in turn is released to the receiving water. The separated substances are retained in the sludge, which has to be handled in a careful way. One option for using sewage sludge is to spread it on agricultural land, thereby making use of nutrients in the sludge. However, just as in the case of the constructed wetland, a potential risk is that unwanted pollutants in the sludge contaminate the soil and end up in crops. Although, there are differences between wetland sediments and sludge from a WWTP, the similarities are sufficiently big to warrant the inclusion in this report of experiences from recycling of sludge.
Based on the overall objectives of WP4 and Tasks 1-5 within the WP, this deliverable (D4.2) summarises the outcomes of both field investigations and theoretical studies of wetlands coupled with different agricultural applications related to sediments, nutrients and pollutants and their impacts, both positive and negative.
In particular, this report presents the following:
(i) field study results from the two case study sites.
(ii) assigned activities for each partner.
(iii) knowledge base of the wetland-water-nutrients-sediment complex with analysis, evaluation and review.
This deliverable is structured as follows: 1) Purpose of the report and an overview of its objectives; 2) Realised activities from partners for D4.2 and 3) Other WATERAGRI project-related work. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/e846c29e-ee21-49e7-9522-5c96ed2b7eca
- author
- Zhang, Linus
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-04
- type
- Book/Report
- publication status
- published
- subject
- pages
- 27 pages
- publisher
- WATERAGRI
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e846c29e-ee21-49e7-9522-5c96ed2b7eca
- alternative location
- https://wateragri.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/D4.2.pdf
- date added to LUP
- 2025-02-20 21:58:22
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:59:54
@techreport{e846c29e-ee21-49e7-9522-5c96ed2b7eca,
abstract = {{This deliverable reports on Risk Assessment for Wetland Sediment Applications on Agricultural Land. The main content is a thorough and critical evaluation (literature review) of the wetland coupled agriculture and the related concerns such as nutrients, sediments and contamination risks. This will also be supported by the two case studies. <br/>Constructed wetlands act as traps for substances carried with the inflow, thereby decreasing the environmental impact of nutrients on downstream aquatic systems. As bottom sediments build up over time, they eventually have to be removed in order to keep the functionality of the constructed wetland. One alternative use of removed sediments is to spread it on agricultural land, thereby increasing environmental sustainability of the agro-food system. A potential risk with this method is that pollutants, such as metals, also accumulate in the sediment and may contaminate the soil after spreading. In this report we provide information and recommendations with respect to such risks.<br/><br/>The function of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is similar in principle to that of a wetland. In a WWTP the unwanted components in the incoming water are separated from the water, which in turn is released to the receiving water. The separated substances are retained in the sludge, which has to be handled in a careful way. One option for using sewage sludge is to spread it on agricultural land, thereby making use of nutrients in the sludge. However, just as in the case of the constructed wetland, a potential risk is that unwanted pollutants in the sludge contaminate the soil and end up in crops. Although, there are differences between wetland sediments and sludge from a WWTP, the similarities are sufficiently big to warrant the inclusion in this report of experiences from recycling of sludge.<br/>Based on the overall objectives of WP4 and Tasks 1-5 within the WP, this deliverable (D4.2) summarises the outcomes of both field investigations and theoretical studies of wetlands coupled with different agricultural applications related to sediments, nutrients and pollutants and their impacts, both positive and negative.<br/>In particular, this report presents the following:<br/>(i) field study results from the two case study sites.<br/>(ii) assigned activities for each partner.<br/>(iii) knowledge base of the wetland-water-nutrients-sediment complex with analysis, evaluation and review. <br/>This deliverable is structured as follows: 1) Purpose of the report and an overview of its objectives; 2) Realised activities from partners for D4.2 and 3) Other WATERAGRI project-related work.}},
author = {{Zhang, Linus}},
institution = {{WATERAGRI}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{D4.2: Risk Assessment for Wetland Sediment Applications on Agricultural Land : WP4 Nutrient Recovery from Streams}},
url = {{https://wateragri.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/D4.2.pdf}},
year = {{2023}},
}