Salty freshwater macrophytes: the effects of salinization in freshwaters upon non-halophyte aquatic plants.

Salinization is a threat that affects aquatic ecosystems worldwide. As primary producers, freshwater macrophytes are of paramount importance in these ecosystems, however, information regarding the potential impacts of salinization upon these organisms is still scarce. In this review we provide a comprehensive and updated discussion of how freshwater macrophytes deal with salinity increase in freshwaters. We reviewed the salinity tolerance of widespread non-halophyte macrophytes through an overview of salinity tolerance mechanisms, their tolerance classification, and salinity effects at different levels of organization: from individuals to ecosystems. Thus, we demonstrated that widespread macrophytes that inhabit freshwaters display efficient salinity tolerance to salinity levels between 5 and 10 g L-1, and only a few species display tolerance to salinities higher than 10 g L-1. Widespread macrophytes demonstrated salinity tolerance of approximately 5 g L-1. Widespread macrophytes demonstrated salinity tolerance of approximately 5 g L-1. Emergent, floating and submerged species showed no significant difference in salinity tolerance. Salinity stress symptoms in freshwater macrophytes are somewhat similar to those of terrestrial plants and can show up even at slight salinity increases. Salinities higher than 1 g L-1 can negatively affect both physiology and diversity of non-halophyte macrophytes and cause long-term - and not well understood - changes in freshwater ecosystems. Salinization of freshwater ecosystems, among others threats, in combination with climate change, raise concerns about the future ecological status of freshwater ecosystems and the services they can provide.

Energy recovery by anaerobic digestion of algal biomass from integrated microalgae/constructed wetland wastewater treatment.

The present study evaluated the potential for biogas generation from microalgae (MA) biomass and macrophytes used in vertical flow constructed wetlands (VFCW). The samples were obtained by separation and collection of MA after a hydraulic retention time of 14 days, frozen and taken to the laboratory, while the macrophytes of VFCW were obtained, by pruning, every 6 months. The obtained results presented reductions of 63.22% and 61.18% for COD and BOD5, respectively, and removal efficiencies of 53.91% for TP and 99.98% de N-NH3. Average biogas generation was 2322.51 NmL-gSV-1 with 54.61% CH4 (winter/2019), 4491.47 Nml-gSV-1 with 57.17% CH4 (spring/2019), 680.78 NmL-gSV-1 with 16.04% CH4 (summer/2020), and 681.0 NmL-gSV-1 with 19.86% CH4 (autumn/2020) for MA biomass and generation of biogas of 3826.70 NmL-gSV-1 with 44.26% CH4 for VFCW biomass in winter and spring/2019 and of 829.68 NmL-gSV-1 with 17.06% CH4 in summer and autumn/2020. Regarding electricity generation, the present work obtained 1.50 kWh/m3, therefore reaching similar values to other studies that used more traditional biomass sources.

Wastewater treatment using bamboos in constructed wetlands: experiences and future perspectives.

Wastewater treatment using constructed wetlands (CWs) based on natural wetlands constitute a viable alternative with excellent cost and benefit, presenting themselves as efficient technologies in the secondary and tertiary treatment of wastewaters with low implementation, operation, and maintenance costs. The present study aims to evaluate the use of bamboo species, as an alternative to macrophytes, frequently used in CWs, through bibliometric analysis, besides to a review based on case studies. The maps generated by the VOSviewer software and by the analyses of the Web of Science and Scopus databases allowed for a review of typical concepts of CWs, in addition to revealing potential benefits of using bamboos in CWs, such as their hyperaccumulation capacity and bioproduct generation. Other promising aspects were identified, for example the use of bamboo charcoal as a substrate used in subsurface wetlands and the application of ornamental bamboo species for landscape improvements, among other observations. The efficiencies found in six case studies showed values between 89-99.7%, 47.6-99.7%, 58.3-99.9%, and 85.5-99.8% for BOD5, COD, total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP), respectively. Despite the promising results, the lack of studies using bamboos in CWs for the treatment of wastewaters limits an assertive statement about the use of this technology, requiring further research, focusing on the morphological functions of bamboos in this treatment with landscape integration and resources recovery.

Combined system for wastewater treatment: ozonization and coagulation via tannin-based agent for harvesting microalgae by dissolved air flotation.

This study evaluated the performance of urban wastewater treatment in pilot-plant by an integrated system consisting of anaerobic reactor, microalgae cultivation, Venturi tube ozone recirculation, coagulation/flocculation with tannin-based agent natural coagulant, and dissolved air flotation (DAF). Ozone concentrations (without ozone, 0.13 and 0.25 mg O3/mg of biomass) and tannin dosages (65, 85 and 105 mg/L) were evaluated regarding microalgae separation and their influences on wastewater treatment performance. During the experiments, it was verified that the treatment efficiency increased when ozone was applied and with higher tannin dosages. The best results were found with 0.13 mg O3/mg of biomass and 105 mg/L of tannin, obtaining excellent removal of turbidity removal (99.4%), apparent colour at 420 nm (94.5%), TN (83.2%), N-NH3 (100%), TOC (86.8%), BOD5 (86.5%) and COD (100%), 47.6% reduction in electric conductivity, 46.1% in TDS, 66.4% TP removal for the integrated system and 84% microalgae biomass recovery were obtained. Our results showed that the system proved to be a viable alternative for the treatment of urban wastewater and the recovery of microalgae through the insertion of ozone via Venturi tube combined with tannin-based agent.

Meteorological drivers and ENSO influence on phytoplankton biomass dynamics in a shallow subtropical lake.

Meteorological features influence the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems and consequently their biotas. This study aimed to identify the meteorological drivers of phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a), sampled seasonally over a period of 12 years (2001-2013) in Lake Mangueira, a large shallow subtropical lake in southern Brazil. The lake is 90 km long and 3-10 km wide with a mean depth of 3 m and is oligo-mesotrophic and highly affected by wind action. In general, non-parametric multiplicative regression analysis identified wind direction, radiation, and the Oceanic Niño Index as the main drivers of variation in chlorophyll a. Notably, ENSO periods caused changes in physical, chemical, and meteorological parameters, including conductivity, total suspended solids, total and dissolved nitrogen, alkalinity, soluble reactive silica, wind speed, and precipitation. Phytoplankton biomass showed significant differences between ENSO periods and the periods without events, occurring in the highest values during La Niña years. This study showed that meteorological variables can significantly influence productivity patterns, indicating the importance of including them in limnological studies.

Root growth and nutrient removal of Typha domingensis and Schoenoplectus californicus over the period of plant establishment in a constructed floating wetland.

Constructed floating wetlands have been employed worldwide to treat effluents and to ameliorate water quality of water resources. However, the period of macrophyte establishment into the hydroponic functioning has not been specifically addressed. This paper reports root growth and nutrient removal of Typha domingensis and Schoenoplectus californicus in a floating structure without growth substrates over the period of 11 weeks of macrophyte establishment. The experiment was conducted in mesocosm with two replicas of each specie. Weekly batches were applied with three different concentrations of a synthetic effluent. Root growth was measured to evaluate the macrophyte adaptation. Physicochemical parameters were weekly monitored, and total nitrogen, nitrate, total phosphorus, and orthophosphate were quantified to assess nutrient removal. Both species have adapted to the floating structure, but T. domingensis presented superior root growth in relation to S. californicus. No significant differences were found during the application of first two synthetic solutions. As to solution 3, significant differences between input and output values were found to total phosphorus (F = 9.948, df = 1, p = 0.008), nitrate (F = 5.990, df = 1, p = 0.031), and total nitrogen (F = 40.212, df = 1, p < 0.0001). Removal efficiency of T. domingensis ranged from 4 to 31% for total nitrogen and from 8 to 15% for total phosphorus. S. californicus, on the other hand, varied its removal efficiency from - 6 to 5% and 2 to 12% for total nitrogen and total phosphorus, respectively. Time period of macrophyte establishment varied between species, and it was an important factor that contributed to the increase of nutrient removal rates and root growth.

Biomonitoring of urban wastewaters treated by an integrated system combining microalgae and constructed wetlands.

The objectives of the present study were to apply different, toxicological assays for monitoring the toxicity of treated and untreated urban effluents produced at a university campus. The research was conducted at the wastewater treatment plant of the University of Santa Cruz do Sul, (UNISC), from october 2018 to april 2019. An integrated system with, anaerobic reactor (AR), microalgae (MA) and constructed wetlands (CWs) was, proposed for detoxification of the wastewaters produced at the university campus with a hydraulic detention time of 17 days. Daphnia, magna (ecotoxicity) and Allium cepa (phytotoxicity, cytotoxicity, and, genotoxicity) were used as tools to monitor the efficiency of the integrated system. Obtained results showed that the integrated system (MA, + CWs) presented good COD and BOD5 reductions, besides removal rates of, almost 98% for N-NH3, being much more efficient than the UNISC wastewater, treatment plant (UWTTP). The results of ecotoxicity presented the raw wastewaters (RW) as slightly toxic and an absence of ecotoxicity in all the treatments steps. Regarding phytotoxicity, the results showed no significant differences between the treatments. The cytogenetic assays indicated a significant increase in mitotic index (MI) (p < 0.001) after treatment by CWs compared to the final treatment UWTTP while the results, regarding binucleated cells (BNC) did not present significant differences, among the treatments. Micronucleus (MN) indexes were significantly different between the UWWPT and the integrated system (p < 0.01). In relation to chromosome aberrations (CA) the results indicate a significant difference between the CWs and UWWTP treatments (p < 0.01) and, RW and CWs (p < 0.001), confirming the detoxifying potential of the integrated system when compared to UWWPT. Thus, the results of the present research highlight the relevance in the proposition of the integrated system as an alternative of cleaner technology to the detriment of conventional technologies applied in wastewater treatment.

Lago Guaíba: uma análise histórico-cultural da poluição hídrica em Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil / Lake Guaíba: a historical and cultural analysis of water pollution in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

RESUMO A qualidade de vida é intrinsecamente ligada à disponibilidade de água, e a poluição desse recurso afeta diretamente as populações. O Lago Guaíba possui importância histórica, econômica e cultural para Porto Alegre (RS) e região metropolitana. Este trabalho discute o contexto histórico-cultural da poluição do Lago Guaíba. Com grande região hidrográfica, o lago sofre diversos impactos ambientais e, ao mesmo tempo, possui múltiplos usos para suas águas. Apesar da grande importância do Lago Guaíba para a região metropolitana de Porto Alegre, há um histórico descaso com sua qualidade. O lago apresenta-se poluído, com percepção pública dessa realidade e limitação de usos diretos de suas águas.

ABSTRACT The quality of life is intrinsically linked to water availability; however, pollution on this resource directly affects people. Lake Guaíba has a historical, economic and cultural importance to Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil) and its metropolitan region. This report discusses the historical and cultural context of Lake Guaíba's pollution. With a large watershed, Lake Guaíba suffers many environmental impacts and, at the same time, has multiple uses for its waters. Despite the great importance of Lake Guaíba to Porto Alegre metropolitan region, there is a historical disregard with its quality. The lake is polluted and there is a public perception of this reality with direct limitation of its water's use.