Impacts of feeding strategy on microbial community structure diversity in vertical flow constructed wetlands

Abstract

The impacts of feeding strategy (intermittently or continuously) on contaminant removal performance and microbial community structure in vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCWs) were evaluated. The results showed that intermittent feeding strategy improved the removal of COD, TP and ammonium in VFCWs, although TN removal was weakened correspondingly The bacterial diversity decreased with the increase of substratum depth in all CWs. The intermittent feeding favored the growth of microorganisms due to the enhancement of oxygen content in the substratum. The feeding strategy had little impact on the microbial community in the surface substratum. However, in the bottom substratum, the impacts were of great significance. The microbial community structure similarity between the CWs with different feeding strategies was low.