Urbanization leads to the compaction of soils that naturally reduces the infiltration of stormwater and increases flooding. Stormwater infrastructures such as biofilters or bioretention systems are used to restore pre-development infiltration capacity and remove pollutants, but these systems are also susceptible to compaction with time due to unintentional foot traffic. In some places, such as roadside environments, compaction is often required. However, it is not clear how and to what extent compaction can affect biofilter’s critical functions such as infiltration rate, plant health, root microbiome, biochemical processes, and pollutant removal. We synthesized literature data on compaction and quantified the extent to which compaction can affect these functions. Our analysis confirmed that infiltration rate significantly reduced with compaction; however, increasing sand content of soil media improves infiltration rate in compacted soil. Compaction decreased oxygen diffusion rate in the root zone, thereby affecting plant root activities, vegetation establishment, and microbial functions. Compaction has both positive and negative impacts on carbon mineralization rate, a microbial health indicator, and root biomass, a vegetation performance indicator. The effect of compaction on these indicators varied widely based on soil type, aeration status, plant species, and inherent soil compaction level. The results will help understand the impact of compaction on biofilter performance and inform management strategies to reduce compaction or alleviate its negative impacts.

Demystifying data: How and to what extent does compaction affect the critical functions of stormwater biofilters?

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.