Abstract:
Wetlands can improve water quality through natural processes including sedimentation, nutrient transformations, and plant uptake. Five water quality parameters, including Turbidity, TDS, NH3-, NO3- and PO43- were collected monthly from inflow and outflow of Infranz wetland for a year (from April 2000 to March 2021) to estimate the removal efficiency of the Infranz Riverine wetland. In this study, temperature and rainfall data were used, in order to correlate their relationships with retention efficiency of wetland. The significance differences of pollutant retention efficiencies between dry and wet seasons were analyzed through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 95% confidence level. The study shows removal efficiency of PO43- was not significantly changed during wet season (41.8%) compared with dry season (38.3%) through the wetland; however, NO3- NH3-, TDS and Turbidity in the wet and dry season were (18.7% and 46.1%), (27.2% and 50.8%), (38.9% and 24.7%) and (21.9% and 36.4%) respectively. Generally, Infranz wetland improved water quality by reducing loads of NH3-, PO43-, NO3-, TDS and Turbidity on average by a percentage of 45.3, 40.3, 37.0, 28.1 and 26.6 respectively. The analysis of correlation index (R2) showed correlativity of removal efficiencies of PO43-, NO3- and NH4- with evaporation and rainfall were less related (R2=0.15, 0.22 and 0.33 respectively). In conclusion, the result showed Infranz Wetland has the potential to remove pollutants,
However, conversion to agriculture puts this function of the wetland at risk. Therefore, to maintain the services of Infranz Wetland in the future, minimizing pressures such as farming and uncontrolled grazing, sustainable agricultural practices and conservation of the remaining intact wetland zone are needed.