Wetlands Constructed Wetlands for Greenhouse Wastewater Wastewater from greenhouse operations is high in fertilizer content and may contain organic pesticides and growth regulators. Many greenhouse fertigation systems are now employing recirculating systems where there is little or no wastewater discharge. Conventional watering systems often have large quantities of wastewater discharge which may expose groundwater to high levels of potential contaminants such as nitrate.
Wetlands offer promise as inexpensive treatment systems for agricultural wastes.
However, the adaptation of artificial wetland treatment systems has been impeded by a lack of design criteria supported by research on important system components and wetland ecology. Characterization of how environment influences constructed wetland performance allows for more efficient development and optimization of design parameters, thus reducing the use of trial and error techniques in designing wetland treatment systems. Temperature conditions affect both the physical and biological activities in the wetland system. Nitrification and denitrification are temperature dependent processes. As a result, effluent quality will fluctuate due to changes in air and wetland temperature.