Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

DEVELOPMENT OF LINEAR MODELS FOR PREDICTING NI CONCENTRATIONS UPTAKE BY THREE AQUATIC MACROPHYTES SPECIES IN VERTICAL SUBSURFACE FLOW CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

Celestin Defo, Ravinder Kaur, Paritosh Kumar, Khajanchi Lal, Anshu Bharadwaj, S.D. Singh and Ranjit Kumar Paul

Abstract

This study aimed at applying the linear modelling approach for predicting Ni concentration uptake in plant species as function of its content in influent wastewater. Data were collected for influent wastewater and different plant samples during 15 months in vertical subsurface flow constructed wetlands (reactors) vegetated with Typha latifolia, Phragmites karka and Acorus calamus on gravel beds. The determination of Ni concentrations in influent and plant samples was performed according to standard procedures. Results showed a good fit of data between the Ni influent concentrations and plant uptake, indicated by p values < 0.001 for all the models investigated. The coefficients of determination were R2=0.92 for Typha latifolia and Phragmites karka while it was R2 = 0.89 for Acorus calamus. Equally, the validation of models showed no significant difference between simulated and experimental data (p values >0.05), regardless of the plant species. The application of these modelling approaches is useful for an effective design of plant species in constructed wetlands.