Greenhouse gas emissions from constructed wetlands: A bibliometric analysis and mini-review

Ziqian Li; Lingwei Kong; Liping Hu; Jun Wei; Xinzhi Zhang; Weijie Guo; Wenqing Shi

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167582

Greenhouse gas emissions from constructed wetlands: A bibliometric analysis and mini-review

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 1:906:167582. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167582. Epub 2023 Oct 4.

Authors

Ziqian Li¹, Lingwei Kong², Liping Hu¹, Jun Wei³, Xinzhi Zhang¹, Weijie Guo⁴, Wenqing Shi⁵

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technologies, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environmental Monitoring & Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
² Key Laboratory of Coastal Environment and Resources of Zhejiang Province, School of Engineering, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310030, China.
³ Power China Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited, Hangzhou 311122, China.
⁴ Basin Water Environmental Research Department, Changjiang River Scientific Research Institute, Wuhan 430010, China.
⁵ Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technologies, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environmental Monitoring & Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science & Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China. Electronic address: wqshi@nuist.edu.cn.

PMID: 37797756
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167582

Abstract

Constructed wetlands (CWs) have been widely applied in wastewater treatment; however, the degradation of organic pollutants within CWs leads to substantial emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. Under the low-carbon economy, GHG emissions have emerged as a major concern, and have been intensively studied in the CW field. In this study, we conducted a bibliometric review using CiteSpace and a global-scale analysis of GHG emission levels based on 286 records and proposed potential approaches for the future control of GHG emissions in CWs. We found that the research has generally evolved through three stages over the past 15 years: GHG emission level assessment (2007-2010), mechanisms (2011-2016), and control (2017-2022). The type of CWs is closely related to GHG emissions, with free water surface CWs emitting higher levels of methane and vertical subsurface flow CWs emitting higher levels of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide. By optimizing CW operation, it is conceivable to synergistically reduce GHG emissions while enhancing pollutant removal.

Keywords: Bibliometric review; Carbon dioxide; CiteSpace; Methane; Nitrous oxide.

Publication types

Review