Abstract
AbstractIn-water remediation strategies, implemented in conjunction with traditional watershed management, could help minimize the impact of excess nitrogen (N) on marine ecosystems. Seaweed farming and harvesting may have potential as in-water N remediation tools in the Western Gulf of Maine (WGoM), but more understanding of the associated spatial and temporal variability is needed. In this study, Saccharina latissima was grown and collected from four WGoM sites in 2016–2019 and analyzed for tissue N content and stable isotopes. The source of N taken by the kelp was not obvious from monthly nor interannual mean δ15N measured in the kelp tissue, and the interannual means were significantly different between sites in the same bay. Mean kelp biomass across all sites and years was 9.84 (± 2.53)–14.84 kg (wet weight) per meter of longline at time of harvest (late May–early June). Nitrogen content of the S. latissima tissue was 1.04–3.82% (± 0.22) (dry weight) throughout the growing season and generally decreased through the spring. Using these results, we estimated that harvesting a hypothetical hectare of S. latissima after 6–7 months of cultivation in the WGoM would have the potential to remove 19.2 (± 4.8)–176.0 (± 7.7) kg N ha−1, depending on the density of longlines. The wide ranges of both biomass at time of harvest, and δ15N and percent N content in the kelp tissue, highlight the need for site-specific pilot studies, even within a specific bay, prior to implementing kelp aquaculture as an in-water tool for N bioextraction.
Funder
Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Plant Science,Aquatic Science
Cited by
13 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献