The overall goal of this research project is to guide the development of floating treatment wetlands as viable treatment technologies for brackish systems.
The project team will 1) screen plant species to determine which will survive in floating treatment wetlands deployed in oligohaline to mesohaline (0.5 – 18 ppt) waters and 2) quantify the relative contribution of select plant and volunteer species to habitat provision and nutrient removal in these systems. The project team will develop guidance to enable successful floating treatment wetland installations using three scales of experimental complexity: greenhouse, mesocosm, and field.
Greenhouse trials will reveal plant species suitability and nutrient removal capacity. Mesocosm trials will further evaluate plant species suitability while adding habitat provision quantification for above- and below-mat fauna as well as plant colonization. Full-scale field trials guided by greenhouse and mesocosm findings, and coupled with an extension workshop, will illuminate plant community dynamics, nutrient removal capacity, and above- and below-mat habitat provisioning.