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Permeable reactive interceptors: blocking diffuse nutrient and greenhouse gases losses in key areas of the farming landscape

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2014

O. FENTON ,
M. G. HEALY ,
F. BRENNAN ,
M. M. R. JAHANGIR ,
G. J. LANIGAN ,
K. G. RICHARDS ,
S. F. THORNTON  and
T. G. IBRAHIM
O. FENTON*
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
M. G. HEALY
Affiliation:
Civil Engineering, National University of Ireland, Galway, Co. Galway, Ireland
F. BRENNAN
Affiliation:
Ecological Sciences Group, James Hutton Institute, UK
M. M. R. JAHANGIR
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
G. J. LANIGAN
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
K. G. RICHARDS
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
S. F. THORNTON
Affiliation:
Groundwater Protection and Restoration Group, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield,UK
T. G. IBRAHIM
Affiliation:
Teagasc, Environmental Research Centre, Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford, Ireland
*
*To whom all correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
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Summary

Engineered remediation technologies such as denitrifying bioreactors target single contaminants along a nutrient transfer continuum. However, mixed contaminant discharges to a water body are more common from agricultural systems. Indeed, evidence presented herein indicates that pollution swapping within denitrifying bioreactor systems adds to such deleterious discharges. The present paper proposes a more holistic approach to contaminant remediation on farms, moving from the use of ‘denitrifying bioreactors’ to the concept of a ‘permeable reactive interceptor’ (PRI). Besides management changes, a PRI should contain additional remediation cells for specific contaminants in the form of solutes, particles or gases. Balance equations and case studies representing different geographic areas are presented and used to create weighting factors. Results showed that national legislation with respect to water and gaseous emissions will inform the eventual PRI design. As it will be expensive to monitor a system continuously in a holistic manner, it is suggested that developments in the field of molecular microbial ecology are essential to provide further insight in terms of element dynamics and the environmental controls on biotransformation and retention processes within PRIs. In turn, microbial and molecular fingerprinting could be used as an in-situ cost-effective tool to assess nutrient and gas balances during the operational phases of a PRI.

Type
Nitrogen Workshop Special Issue Papers
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 152 , Supplement S1: Special Issue from the 17th International Nitrogen Workshop , December 2014 , pp. 71 - 81
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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