IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i3p1329-d1585109.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Soil Nematodes as an Indicator of the Efficiency of Hydrophytic Treatment Plants with Vertical Wastewater Flow

Author

Listed:
  • Magdalena Bagińska

    (Institute of New Technologies in Environmental Engineering, 65-032 Zielona Góra, Poland)

  • Tomasz Warężak

    (Institute of New Technologies in Environmental Engineering, 65-032 Zielona Góra, Poland
    Faculty of Technical Sciences in Environmental Engineering, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín 111321, Colombia)

  • Wacław Romaniuk

    (Institute of Technology and Life Sciences–National Research Insitute, Hrabska 3, 05-090 Falenty, Poland)

  • Dawid Kozacki

    (Department of Plant Protection, The National Institute of Horticultural Research, Konstytucji 3 Maja 1/3, 96-100 Skierniewice, Poland)

  • Zbigniew Skibko

    (Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Bialystok University of Technology, Wiejska 45D, 15-351 Bialystok, Poland)

  • Andrzej Borusiewicz

    (Department of Agronomy, Modern Technology and Informatics, International Academy of Applied Sciences in Lomza, 18-400 Lomza, Poland)

  • Jarosław Dąbrowski

    (Institute of Technology and Life Sciences–National Research Insitute, Hrabska 3, 05-090 Falenty, Poland)

Abstract

This paper presents the role of soil nematodes as bio-indicators of the functioning of soil-plant beds in hydrophytic vertical-flow constructed wetland (VFCW) wastewater treatment plants. This study aimed to determine the abundance and trophic composition of nematode populations in seven soil-plant beds, the third component of plant-based wastewater treatment plants designed as Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs), in line with blue–green infrastructure and the closed-loop economy. The technology of this type of treatment plant is also in line with the idea of sustainability due to the very low energy requirements of the wastewater treatment system. In addition, soil nematodes were analysed in the soil adjacent to the WWTPs to assess the differences in trophic structure between these environments. The average nematode abundance in the soil-plant beds ranged from 606,000 [N·m −2 ] to 1,982,000 [N·m −2 ], with bacterivorous nematodes being the most abundant trophic group (61–73% of the population). This study’s results confirmed that soil-plant beds are abundantly populated by bacteria participating in key organic matter decomposition processes and nitrogen and phosphorus compound transformations, contributing to adequate wastewater treatment. The dominance of bacterivorous nematodes indicates a practical support of physicochemical and biological processes that reduce pollutant concentrations and eliminate pathogenic bacteria flowing into the deposits with the wastewater.

Suggested Citation

  • Magdalena Bagińska & Tomasz Warężak & Wacław Romaniuk & Dawid Kozacki & Zbigniew Skibko & Andrzej Borusiewicz & Jarosław Dąbrowski, 2025. "Soil Nematodes as an Indicator of the Efficiency of Hydrophytic Treatment Plants with Vertical Wastewater Flow," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-22, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1329-:d:1585109
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1329/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/3/1329/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Magdalena Tymińska & Zbigniew Skibko & Andrzej Borusiewicz, 2023. "The Effect of Agricultural Biogas Plants on the Quality of Farm Energy Supply," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Anita Zapałowska & Andrzej Skwiercz & Dawid Kozacki & Czesław Puchalski, 2024. "Employing Plant Parasitic Nematodes as an Indicator for Assessing Advancements in Landfill Remediation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Casper Boongaling Agaton, 2024. "Real Options Analysis of Constructed Wetlands as Nature-Based Solutions to Wastewater Treatment Under Multiple Uncertainties: A Case Study in the Philippines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-17, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Artur Krukowski & Anna Nowak & Aneta Jarosz-Angowska & Monika Różańska-Boczula, 2024. "Evaluation of the Significance of Agriculture in Renewable Energy Production in the Member States of the EU," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Maciej Kuboń & Magdalena Tymińska & Zbigniew Skibko & Andrzej Borusiewicz & Jacek Filipkowski & Sylwester Tabor & Stanisław Derehajło, 2023. "Effect of Fertilisation Regime on Maise Yields," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-14, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1329-:d:1585109. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.