The Comprehensive Reduction Capacity of Five Riparian Vegetation Buffer Strips for Primary Pollutants in Surface Runoff

Abstract

Most studies on the effects of plants on reducing pollutants in surface runoff focus on the elimination of a single pollutant by a single plant species. We take into account the fact that natural riparian herbaceous vegetation buffer strips remove multiple pollutants at the same time, and vegetation species need to be selected according to actual conditions. In an indoor simulation, processed soil samples were taken, and collected rainwater was used to prepare standard solutions for simulating surface runoff, which includes five primary water pollutants: total suspended solids (TSS), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). Pollutant concentrations were measured after the experiments. We found that the reduction capacity of vegetation buffer strips differs due to the differentiation of biological structure and growth characteristics. Dichondra repens Forst and Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers had high biomass, and their vegetation was creeping on the ground with well-developed roots, showing a strong comprehensive ability to reduce pollutants. The comprehensive reduction capability of five vegetation buffer strips for pollutants is ranked as follows: Dichondra repens Forst > Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers > Zoysia matrella > Festuca elata Keng ex E. Alexeev > Lolium perenne.