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Updated: Nov 21, 2025

Vegetated Treatment Systems for Removing Contaminants Associated with Surface Water Toxicity in Agriculture and Urban Runoff
Published on: May 15, 2017
Bioretention for removal of nitrogen: processes, operational conditions, and strategies for improvement
Hongwei Zhang1, Zulfiqar Ahmad1, Yalu Shao1
1State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, Hubei, China.
Abstract:
As one of the low-impact development measures, bioretention plays an important role in reducing the runoff peak flow and minimizing runoff pollutants, such as heavy metals, suspended solids, and nutrients. However, the efficiency of nitrogen removal in the bioretention system is unstable, owing to the different chemical properties of various forms of nitrogen and the limitations of current bioretention system for nitrogen transformation. This review article summarizes the recent advances in bioretention system in treatment of urban stormwater and agricultural runoff for nitrogen removal. The microbial characteristics and main processes of nitrogen transformation in bioretention are reviewed. The operational conditions affecting nitrogen removal, including climatic conditions, pH, wet-dry alternation, influent loads and nitrogen concentration, and hydraulic residence time are discussed. Finally, measures or strategies for increasing nitrogen removal efficiency are proposed from the perspectives of structural improvement of the bioretention system, optimization of medium composition, and enhancement of the nitrogen removal reaction processes.
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