Bioretention Landscape Design for Pollutant Removal
Using plants in urban areas to remediate contaminants from soils, or phytoremediation, is a misunderstood technology that when implemented correctly can have environmental, social, and aesthetic advantages. The scientific community has found that vegetation in bioretention systems produces measurable water quality and hydrological performance benefits for green stormwater infrastructure (Muerdter, Wong, & LeFevre, 2018) but there are few effective resources for designers to implement these technologies effectively. While science is still emerging, knowledge and communication gaps among scientists, engineers and horticulturalists have contributed to the lack of effective resources for designers to implement vegetated bioretention systems for pollutant removal. This capstone attempts to investigate the knowledge gaps in designing bioretention systems to maximize plant functionality and identify landscape design best practices for pollution removal. Experts and researchers in the field of green infrastructure design were interviewed to understand these barriers and how to apply design best practices. Two sites were chosen, one in an urban/industrial setting and another in a rural community setting to illustrate best practices for landscape design to remediate pollutants and create attractive community amenities through the intentional design of bioretention systems.
Project Link
https://psu.zoom.us/rec/share
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