Survey of plant species present on Constructed Wetlands in Opalenica Municipality
The aim of this study was to analyse over fifty constructed wetlands established in two villages in Opalenica Municipality (Wielkopolska, Poland) differing in building time, prevailing hydrological and microclimatic conditions, appearance of macrophytes species and chosen plantation method. Two subsystems of constructed wetlands that are complementing one another, based on emergent macrophyte treatment system with vertical subsurface flow in plant filter and open water in denitrification ponds give the opportunity to the full-scale wastewater treatment performance. The main conclusions that can be drawn from this study regard the considerable role of the presence of macrophytes that significantly improve microbial activity, insulate against frost during winter, prevent from clogging and odour occurrence and improves value of the landscape. The conducted analyses proved that the establishment of this kind of semi-natural wastewater treatment system is becoming widely implemented into environmental protection schemes for rural communities.