ABSTRACT
Changes in agricultural practices,
and irrigation strategies combined with natural processes, have led to
increased salinization of soil and water resources
worldwide. In the Powder River Basin of
Montana and
The objective of this study was to
evaluate the potential of constructed wetlands as a beneficial use of CBM
product water. This was accomplished by
assessing seasonal water use and biomass production of three native plant
communities. Native species establish hydrologically
distinct communities in former ephemeral channels now running with CBM product
water, and nine species of those cataloged were selected and segregated into
the three communities. Closed-system
wetland cells were constructed and each community was assigned to four of these
cells, i.e., lysimeters. Chemistry of the supply water was sodic and moderately saline (EC ~ 3.4 dS/m,
SAR > 25), typical of northern portions of the
Results of this study indicate that constructed wetlands planted with native, salt tolerant species have potential to utilize substantial volumes of CBM product water while remaining robust and viable. Although results suggest evaporation from an open water surface to be greater than evapotranspiration from a constructed wetland, constructed wetlands have added benefits of providing wildlife habitat, recreation and viewshed enhancement.