Constructed wetlands as carbon sinks – a review

Abstract

In the face of global warming, research on carbon removal to mitigate the effects of climate change has been carried out. The use of constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment is known, however the quantity of studies about carbon sequestration of this system is still limited. Thus, the systematic and literature review aimed to expose the characteristics of constructed wetlands in relation to greenhouse gas emissions. The bases used were Scopus, Springer and Google Schoolar and the selected terms were related to constructed wetlands and GHG. It was concluded that the horizontal subsurface flow CWs has the potential to become a carbon sink, due to the carbon retained in the plants, and may emit less N2O than the vertical subsurface flow CW; about the emission of CH4, it is important to know the species of plant adopted due to its influence on methane emissions