Integrating biochar and native vegetation to maximize ecosystem services and their return-on-investment in a storm water management facility

在加拿大各地--以及北美大部分地区--市政当局依法要求所有新开发项目建设雨水管理设施(SWMF)，该设施将所有社区的径流水收集起来，然后排入下水道系统，最终进入天然水体。住宅开发主权财富基金将流入邻近社区的景观水流和污染减少高达80%。然而，由于SWMF流出的水在进一步下游进入之前没有得到处理，SWMF水中捕获的污染物被转移到自然生态系统。这已被发现对下游环境、市政当局及其公民产生了各种负面影响。在全球和个别地区，生物炭和生物多样性减少了向下游转移的污染物水平。该项目有三个问题：在重建的生态系统中生物炭的最佳应用水平：什么水平的生物碳能最大限度地促进本地植被的建立；它是否也能最大限度地抑制入侵物种；这是否与土壤有机碳、氮和/或磷的储存有关，从而使植物和土壤中的有机碳、氮和/或磷的储存达到可以显著减少下游污染物水流的水平。该项目的成果将提供所需的重要信息，以最大限度地提高从城市系统输送的水质，以保护自然水体和加拿大下游居民。这项研究与工业合作伙伴有关，因为研究结果将指导他们设计SWMF，以最大限度地降低成本，最大限度地发挥此类设施的生态功能。这项研究的结果也将适用于所有加拿大北方生物群、SWMF和其他新兴的省和地区法规。

Across Canada - and much of North America - municipalities legally require all new developments to constructstorm water management facilities (SWMF) that accumulate all neighbourhood runoff water prior to drainageinto sewer systems and eventually natural water bodies. Residential development SWMFs reduce landscapewater flow and contamination into neighbouring communities by up to 80%. However, because SWMFoutflow is not treated prior to farther downstream entry, pollutants captured in SWMF water is transferred tonatural ecosystems. This has been found to have a variety of negative impacts on downstream environments,municipalities and their citizens. Globally and individually biochar and biodiversity have reduced pollutantlevels transferred downstream. This project has three questions about the optimal level of biochar applicationin rebuilt ecosystems: what level of biochar maximizes native vegetation establishment success; does it alsomaximize invasive species inhibition; and is this correlated to soil organic carbon, nitrogen and/or phosphorusstorage in the plants and soils to a level that can significantly reduce downstream pollutant water flow. Theoutcomes of this project will provide vital information needed to create protocols and guidelines to maximizethe water quality delivered from urban systems to protect natural water bodies and Canadians downstream.This research is relevant to the industrial partner as results from the research will guide their design of SWMFto minimize the cost and maximize the ecological function of such facilities. Results from this study will alsobe applicable across all Canadian boreal biome SWMF and other emerging provincial and territorialregulations.