Laboratory Experiment on Contributions of Macrophytes Cultivated in a Surface Water-Soil System without an Infiltrative Flow to Nitrogen Removal

Abstract

A laboratory experiment was carried out to investigate the contributions of the bulk flow produced by the transpiration of macrophytes cultivated in a surface water-soil system without an infiltrative flow to nitrogen removal. In emergent macrophytes, the bulk flow not only induces advection but also accelerates diffusion in nitrogen transport from the surface water to the soil, and its effects are significant. However, the effects are smaller in floating-leaved macrophytes and absent in submerged macrophytes.