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Treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage tailwater in paddy rice wetlands: concept and environmental benefits

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Abstract

Domestic sewage tailwater (DSTW) reuse for crop irrigation is considered a promising practice to reduce water demand, mitigate water pollution, and substitute chemical fertilization. The level of the above environmental benefits of this water reuse strategy, especially when applied to paddy wetlands, remains unclear. In this study, soil column experiments were conducted to investigate the nitrogen and phosphorus fate in paddy wetlands subjected to different tailwater irrigation and drainage strategies, specifically, (i) TW1 and TW2 for regular or enhanced irrigation-drainage without N fertilization, (ii) TW3 and TW4 for regular irrigation with base or tillering N fertilizer, (iii) conventional fertilization N210, and (iv) no-fertilization controls N0. The results showed that the total nitrogen (TN), nitrate (NO3−), and total phosphorus (TP) removal rates from the paddies irrigated by DSTW ranged between 51.92 and 59.34%, 68.1 and 83.42%, and 85.69 and 86.98% respectively. Ammonia emissions from the DSTW-irrigated treatments were reduced by 14.6~47.2% compared to those paddies subjected to conventional fertilization (N210), similarly for TN emissions, with the exception of the TW2 treatment. Overall, it is established that the paddy wetland could effectively remove residual N and P from surface water runoffs, while the partial substitution of chemical fertilization by DSTW could be confirmed. The outcome of this study demonstrates that DSTW irrigation is a promising strategy for sustainable rice production with a minimized environmental impact.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the village committee of Xinzhong Village, Dongba Town of Gaochun District, Nanjing for their full support. We are especially grateful to the panelists who agreed to participate in this study.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFD1700803); the Province Key Research and Development Program of Jiangsu, China (D21YFD17008); and the National Natural Science Funds of China (No. 41501324).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agro-Environment in Downstream of Yangtze Plain, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 50, Zhongling Street, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, 210014, China

    Rulong Ma, Jingjing Duan, Lihong Xue, Aijing Yin & Linzhang Yang

  2. College of Grassland, Resources and Environment, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Soil Quality and Nutrient Resources, Hohhot, 010018, China

    Rulong Ma & Quanyi Suo

  3. Stantec, UK, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 3DY, UK

    Evangelos Petropoulos

  4. School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK

    Evangelos Petropoulos

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  1. Rulong Ma
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  2. Jingjing Duan
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  3. Lihong Xue
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  4. Aijing Yin
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  5. Evangelos Petropoulos
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  6. Quanyi Suo
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  7. Linzhang Yang
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Contributions

Conceptualization: J. D., L. X., Q. S., and L. Y.; Methodology: R. M., J. D., and A. Y., Formal analysis: R. M., J. D., E. P., and A. Y.; Methodology: R. M., J. D., and A. Y.; Writing - original draft: R. M.. and J. D.; Writing - review and editing: L. X., E. P., and L. Y.; Funding acquisition: J. D., L. X., and L. Y.; Resources: Q. S. and L. Y.; Supervision: L. X., and L. Y. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jingjing Duan.

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Ma, R., Duan, J., Xue, L. et al. Treatment of nitrogen and phosphorus from sewage tailwater in paddy rice wetlands: concept and environmental benefits. Environ Monit Assess 196, 174 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-024-12353-3

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