Zhuang et al. (2025) Design strategies based on hydrological performance of bioretention: experiments and modeling

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-12-08
• Authors: Luwen Zhuang, Jianliang He, Jingmao Zhang, Gang Hu, Han Zhu, Wenhui Gan, Kairong Lin
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134752

Research Groups

Center for Water Resources and Environment, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Marine Civil Engineering, School of Civil Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, PR China

Short Summary

This study comprehensively evaluated the hydrological performance of bioretention cells through laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, and statistical analyses. It found that topsoil composition and initial soil moisture are critical factors, with performance significantly limited for high-intensity rainfall events exceeding approximately 200 mm, leading to the proposal of climate-based design strategies.

Objective

• To comprehensively evaluate the hydrological performance of bioretention cells under diverse scenarios, assessing the effects of bioretention structure and composition, initial soil moisture, cell aging, and characteristics of rainfall events.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Laboratory experiments (implying controlled, likely mesocosm or column scale).
• Temporal Scale: Dynamic, considering factors like cell aging and varying rainfall event characteristics (e.g., peak timing).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Numerical simulations (specific model not named in the provided text).
• Data sources: Laboratory experiments, numerical simulations, statistical analyses.

Main Results

• Topsoil composition and initial soil moisture are critical factors influencing the hydrological performance of bioretention.
• Changes in the sand layer within bioretention cells have a limited impact on hydrological performance.
• The optimal mixing ratio of sand and soil for bioretention varied depending on the initial soil moisture conditions.
• Bioretention cells demonstrated greater effectiveness during rainfall events characterized by early peaks compared to those with delayed peaks, which often lead to pre-saturation.
• The hydrological effectiveness of bioretention was quantified, showing limited performance for high-intensity rainfall events (greater than approximately 200 mm).
• Climate-based design and management strategies were proposed to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of bioretention cells through appropriate soil mixtures and vegetation.

Contributions

• Provides a comprehensive evaluation of bioretention hydrological performance under a wide range of scenarios, including structural, compositional, initial moisture, aging, and rainfall characteristics.
• Highlights the critical, yet less-studied, influence of initial soil moisture conditions on bioretention performance.
• Quantifies the hydrological effectiveness and identifies performance limitations of bioretention for high-intensity rainfall events.
• Proposes practical climate-based design and management strategies to optimize bioretention efficiency and longevity.

Funding

[No funding information was provided in the paper text.]

Citation

@article{Zhuang2025Design,
  author = {Zhuang, Luwen and He, Jianliang and Zhang, Jingmao and Hu, Gang and Zhu, Han and Gan, Wenhui and Lin, Kairong},
  title = {Design strategies based on hydrological performance of bioretention: experiments and modeling},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134752},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.134752}
}