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Volume 13
Issue 11
10.3390/pr13113494
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon.
Article

Assessing Different Passive Treatment Pathways of Acid Mine Drainage in an Ecologically Engineered Wetland After a Veldfire

by
Paul Oberholster
1,
Yolandi Schoeman
1,
Anna-Maria Botha
2,
Petri Oberholster
1 and
Jacques Maritz
3,*
1
Centre of Environmental Management, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
2
Department of Genetics, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch 7601, South Africa
3
Engineering Science, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Processes 2025, 13(11), 3494; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113494
Submission received: 10 September 2025 / Revised: 23 October 2025 / Accepted: 29 October 2025 / Published: 30 October 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Environmental and Green Processes)
Versions Notes

Abstract

In this paper, different physiochemical and biological indicators were tested to determine and compare the water quality of the Zaalklapspruit ecologically engineered wetland before and after a veldfire. Five sampling sites and a reference site 2.2 km upstream of an acid mine drainage (AMD)-decanting coal mine were selected and sampled before and after the veldfire. The “black box” method was also employed to determine the percentage change in the selected in- and outflow variables before and after the veldfire. After the veldfire, Al was reduced by 97.43%. The same trend was observed for Fe, which decreased by 99.65% at the outflow, and Mn and sulphate levels decreased by 98.41% and 68.16%. Possible pathways of the reduction in acid mine drainage impacts on the wetland were identified after the veldfire, including the increase in waterflows during the wet season causing a dilution factor, and phycoremediation by macroalgae drifting mats that accumulate metals and ash slurry from the burned-out macrophyte plant material that may have increased the wetland’s alkalinity. A comprehensive framework for the digital twinning and monitoring of the effects of natural disasters on wetlands is also presented.
Keywords: veldfire; acid mine drainage; ecologically engineered wetland; flow regime; ash slurry; phycoremediation veldfire; acid mine drainage; ecologically engineered wetland; flow regime; ash slurry; phycoremediation

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MDPI and ACS Style

Oberholster, P.; Schoeman, Y.; Botha, A.-M.; Oberholster, P.; Maritz, J. Assessing Different Passive Treatment Pathways of Acid Mine Drainage in an Ecologically Engineered Wetland After a Veldfire. Processes 2025, 13, 3494. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113494

AMA Style

Oberholster P, Schoeman Y, Botha A-M, Oberholster P, Maritz J. Assessing Different Passive Treatment Pathways of Acid Mine Drainage in an Ecologically Engineered Wetland After a Veldfire. Processes. 2025; 13(11):3494. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113494

Chicago/Turabian Style

Oberholster, Paul, Yolandi Schoeman, Anna-Maria Botha, Petri Oberholster, and Jacques Maritz. 2025. "Assessing Different Passive Treatment Pathways of Acid Mine Drainage in an Ecologically Engineered Wetland After a Veldfire" Processes 13, no. 11: 3494. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113494

APA Style

Oberholster, P., Schoeman, Y., Botha, A.-M., Oberholster, P., & Maritz, J. (2025). Assessing Different Passive Treatment Pathways of Acid Mine Drainage in an Ecologically Engineered Wetland After a Veldfire. Processes, 13(11), 3494. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr13113494

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