Can multiple harvest of aboveground biomass enhance removal of trace elements in constructed wetlands receiving municipal sewage?

Constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment in the Czech Republic are commonly planted with reed canarygrass (Phalaris arundinacea). Phalaris is a fast-growing grass which may be cut several times during the growing season. During 2005, the experiments were carried out at horizontal sub-surface flow constructed wetland Břehov to evaluate whether multiple harvest may increase the amount of 23 trace elements removable via mowing. The plants were cut in mid-June and re-harvested in mid-August. The single harvest was carried out at the end of July during the peak standing crop of this species. The biomass of Phalaris cut once and twice during the year was nearly identical but analyses of the biomass indicated that the amount (standing stock) of trace elements varied. For 13 elements (As, Ba, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb and U) the standing stock was higher for single harvest, indicating that these trace elements are transported to the aboveground biomass later in the growing season. Standing stock found in the biomass harvested at the peak standing crop as percentage of the cumulative standing stock from two harvests was highest for Hg (385%), Pb (249%) and U (244%). On the other hand, for 10 elements (Al, Cd, Li, Mo, Rb, Se, Sn, Sr, Tl and Zn) cumulative standing stock was higher than the standing stock for one harvest, indicating high accumulation during the early growth stages. For those elements, multiple harvest could be beneficial for element removal from wastewater.