Sustainable Stormwater Management and Bioretention: An Overview of Reviews of the Last 10 Years

Livia Bonciarelli, Fabio Orlandi (), Desirée Muscas and Marco Fornaciari
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Livia Bonciarelli: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
Fabio Orlandi: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
Desirée Muscas: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
Marco Fornaciari: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-28

Abstract: Extreme rainfalls caused by climate change are a growing worldwide threat to the urban environment. Nature-based solutions (NBS) employ soil and vegetation to manage and treat stormwater while ensuring extensive ecosystem services. In the last decades, these solutions, such as Rain Gardens, Green Roofs, Vegetated Swales, and Constructed Wetlands, have been implemented worldwide under different names. This study is a systematic overview of reviews focusing on the last 10 years of sustainable stormwater management literature. First, a general bibliometric and topic analysis highlights trends and core themes addressed by the reviews. Then, the article delves into bioretention, analyzing water quantity and quality regulation as a function of design choices on media and vegetation. Including an internal water storage zone and using amendments such as biochar and water treatment residuals are relevant, sustainable features to target water pollution and hydrologic functioning. Vegetation, too, has a prominent role. Nevertheless, only the most recent reviews address the species’ selection, highlighting a significant research gap.

Keywords: sustainable stormwater management; nature-based solutions; low-impact development; Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems; bioretention; biofiltration; rain gardens; media; vegetation; plant selection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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