Application of bioinoculation to enhance rhizocompetence of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland system

Abstract

The main goal of the present study was to enhance the rhizobacterium potential in horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland system planted by Phragmites australis using biotechnology. The bioinoculation of denitrifier promoting rhizobacteria fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. has been used to confer higher rhizosphere competence by environmentally friendly biological approaches. In order to study the behaviour or the denitrifying potential of the inoculated bacteria ex situ and in situ, the models of Chick–Watson and Series-Event were used with modifications. The comparison of kinetic parameters: (k): the denitrifying coefficient (h⁻¹) and the denitrifying rate at the first contact with a determined concentration of nitrate (A) for different bioassays has shown that the application of the bioinoculation increases remarkably the efficiency of the water treatment system for the reduction of nitrates even by an individual bioinoculated bacterium.

Keywords:

• Bioinoculation
• Constructed Wetland
• Denitrification
• Pseudomonas spp.
• Rhizosphere

Acknowledgement

This work is supported by CERTE contract programs funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Tunisia.

Notes

Presented at the Sustainable Water Management Conference on Sustainable Domestic Water Use in Mediterranean Regions (SWMED), 19–21 February 2015, Tunis, Tunisia