Effect of different plant species on nutrient removal and rhizospheric microorganisms distribution in horizontal-flow constructed wetlands.

Three macrophyte species, Phragmites australis, Arundo donax L., and Typha latifolia L. have been separately grown in a horizontal-flow (HF) constructed wetland (CW) fed with domestic wastewater to investigate effects of plant species on nutrient removal and rhizospheric microorganisms. All the three mesocosms have been in operation for eight months under the loading rates of 1.14 g Nm(-2) d(-1) and 0.014gP m(-2) d(-1). Appropriately 34-43% phosphorus (P) was removed in HF CWs, and no distinct difference was found among the plants. In the growing season, A. donax L. removed 31.19 gm(-2) of nitrogen (N), followed by P. australis (29.96 g m(-2)), both of which were significantly higher than T. latifolia L. (7.21 g m(-2). Depending on the species, plants absorbed 1.73-7.15% of the overall N, and 0.06-0.56% of the P input. At least 10 common dominant microorganisms were found in the rhizosphere of all the three plants, and 6 of the 10 kinds of bacteria had close relationship with denitrifying bacteria, implying that denitrifiers were dominant microorganism distributed in rhizosphere of wetland plants.