Application of Diatom Indices in a Planted Ditch Constructed for Tertiary Sewage Treatment in Schwaan, Germany

✍ Scribed by Dörte Köster; Thomas Hübener

• Book ID: 101379487
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 191 KB
• Volume: 86
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1434-2944
• DOI: 10.1002/1522-2632(200104)86:2<241::aid-iroh241>3.0.co;2-h

✦ Synopsis

The present study quantified the decrease of organic and trophic pollution in a constructed wetland used for tertiary sewage treatment. Different diatom indices [the saprobic zoning system of LANGE-BER-TALOT (1978, 1979), the saprobic index (SI) of , as well as the trophic indices of ; KELLY and WHITTON (1995) and ] were tested for their effectiveness in detecting changes in water quality of highly organic and trophic waters. The saprobic zoning system detected nearly the same pollution levels as the chemical data, but the measured saprobic characteristics (e.g. TOC: Total Organic Carbon) did not correspond to significant changes in the diatom assemblages. The data suggested that the results of the saprobic zoning system were influenced by differences in nitrate concentrations. The trophic diatom indices correlated relatively well with the inorganic compound chemical data.