ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Effect of Drainage Systems on
the Migration and Removal of N and P
Pollutants in Irrigation Area of South China
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1
Rural Water Conservancy Research Institute (Soil and Water Conservation Research Institute), Zhejiang Institute
of Hydraulics and Estuary (Zhejiang Institute of Marine Planning and Design), Hangzhou, 310020, China
2
College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211100, China
Submission date: 2024-03-30
Final revision date: 2024-05-05
Acceptance date: 2024-09-29
Online publication date: 2024-12-13
Corresponding author
Menghua Xiao
Rural Water Conservancy Research Institute (Soil and Water Conservation Research Institute), Zhejiang Institute of Hydraulics and Estuary (Zhejiang Institute of Marine Planning and Design), Hanghai Road, 310020, Hangzhou, China
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ABSTRACT
The prevention and control of agricultural non-point source pollution is an effective way to solve
the water ecological environment dilemma in southern China. In this paper, based on the irrigation area
scale, three kinds of drainage systems (ditch-sluice gate regulation and storage system (DSG system),
field-ditch direct drainage system (FDD system), and ecological ditch-pond regulation and storage
system (EDP system) were set up to quantitatively study the purification and removal capacity to
reduce nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollutants. The results showed that the concentration of N
and P pollutants in various levels of drainage ditches was generally higher in July, with a significant
fluctuation in August and the lowest in September and October. The concentration of N and P pollutants
at the inlet of the EDP system was significantly higher, while at the outlet, it was lower than that
of the DSG and FDD systems. The removal rates of TN, NO3
--N, NH4
+-N, and TP by the three drainage
systems were 14.2~36.2%, 1.9~93.9%, 4.5~15.8%, and 0.4~24.2%, respectively. The EDP system had
the highest removal ability of N and P pollutants under the joint action of plants and microorganisms
in the drainage ditch. DSG system was equipped with a regulating gate at the end of the farmland
ditch, which increased the hydraulic retention time to improve the purification effect of N and P
pollutants. The ideal and actual removal rates of pollutants were increased with the increase of pollutant
degradation coefficient, while the realization rate showed a flat U-shaped trend with the increase
of pollutant degradation coefficient. Integrating farmland and drainage ditches-ponds (wetlands) as
a whole could fully utilize the interception and purification effect on pollutants, which would have good
feasibility and promotion in practical production.