@article{Maucieri_Borin_Barbera_2014, title={Role of C3 plant species on carbon dioxide and methane emissions in Mediterranean constructed wetland}, volume={9}, url={https://www.agronomy.it/agro/article/view/ija.2014.601}, DOI={10.4081/ija.2014.601}, abstractNote={C3 plant species are widely used to vegetate constructed wetlands (CW), but so far no information is available on their effect on CW CO<sub>2(eq)</sub> balance in the Mediterranean climate. The aim of this research was to study carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) and methane (CH<sub>4</sub>) emissions and CO<sub>2(eq)</sub> budgets of CW horizontal sub-surface flow pilot-plant beds vegetated with <em>Arundo donax</em> L. and <em>Phragmites</em> <em>australis</em> (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. compared with an unvegetated bed in Sicily. The highest total plant biomass production was measured in the bed vegetated with <em>A. donax</em> (17.0 kg m<sup>–2</sup>), whereas <em>P. australis</em> produced 7.6 kg m<sup>–2</sup>. CO<sub>2</sub> and CH<sub>4</sub> emissions and showed significant correlation with average air temperature and solar radiation for each bed. The CO<sub>2</sub> emission values ranged from 0.8±0.1 g m<sup>–2</sup> d<sup>–1</sup>, for the unvegetated bed in April, to 24.9±0.6 g m<sup>–2</sup> d<sup>–1</sup> for the bed with <em>P. australis</em> in August. The average CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of the whole monitored period were 15.5±7.2, 15.1±7.1 and 3.6±2.4 g m<sup>–2</sup> d<sup>–1</sup> for <em>A. donax</em>, <em>P. australis</em> and unvegetated beds respectively. The CH<sub>4</sub> fluxes differed significantly over the monitored seasons, with the highest median value being measured during spring (0.963 g m<sup>–2</sup> d<sup>–1</sup>). No statistical differences were found for CH<sub>4</sub> flux among the studied beds. Cumulative estimated CH<sub>4</sub> emissions during the study period (from April to December) were 159.5, 134.1 and 114.7 g m<sup>–2</sup> for <em>A. donax</em>, <em>P. australis</em> and unvegetated beds respectively. CO<sub>2(eq)</sub> balance showed that the two vegetated beds act as CO<sub>2(eq)</sub> sinks, while the unvegetated bed, as expected, acts as a CO<sub>2(eq)</sub> source. Considering only the above-ground plant biomass in the CO<sub>2(eq)</sub> budgets, <em>P. australis</em> and <em>A. donax</em> determined uptakes of 1.30 and 8.35 kg CO<sub>2(eq)</sub> m<sup>–2</sup> respectively.}, number={3}, journal={Italian Journal of Agronomy}, author={Maucieri, Carmelo and Borin, Maurizio and Barbera, Antonio C.}, year={2014}, month={Aug.}, pages={120–126} }