Bioremediation efficiency in the removal of dissolved inorganic nutrients by the red seaweed, Porphyra yezoensis, cultivated in the open sea

The bioremediation capability and efficiency of large-scale Porphyra cultivation in the removal of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus from open sea area were studied. The study took place in 2002–2004, in a 300 ha nori farm along the Lusi coast, Qidong County, Jiangsu Province, China, where the valuable rhodophyte seaweed Porphyra yezoensis has been extensively cultivated. Nutrient concentrations were significantly reduced by the seaweed cultivation. During the non-cultivation period of P. yezoensis, the concentrations of NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N and PO4-P were 43–61, 1–3, 33–44 and 1–3 μmol L−1, respectively. Within the Porphyra cultivation area, the average nutrient concentrations during the Porphyra cultivation season were 20.5, 1.1, 27.9 and 0.96 μmol L−1 for NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N and PO4-P, respectively, significantly lower than in the non-cultivation season (p<0.05). Compared with the control area, Porphyra farming resulted in the reduction of NH4-N, NO2-N, NO3-N and PO4-P by 50–94%, 42–91%, 21–38% and 42–67%, respectively. Nitrogen and phosphorus contents in dry Porphyra thalli harvested from the Lusi coast averaged 6.3% and 1.0%, respectively. There were significant monthly variations in tissue nitrogen content (p<0.05) but not in tissue phosphorus content (p>0.05). The highest tissue nitrogen content, 7.65% in dry wt, was found in December and the lowest value, 4.85%, in dry wt, in April. The annual biomass production of P. yezoensis was about 800 kg dry wt ha−1 at the Lusi Coast in 2003–2004. An average of 14708.5 kg of tissue nitrogen and 2373.5 kg of tissue phosphorus in P. yezoensis biomass were harvested annually from 300 ha of cultivation from Lusi coastal water. These results indicated that Porphyra efficiently removed excess nutrient from nearshore eutrophic coastal areas. Therefore, large-scale cultivation of P. yezoensis could alleviate eutrophication in coastal waters economically.