Influence of nutrients pollution on the growth and organic matter output of Ulva prolifera in the southern Yellow Sea, China

•Ulva prolifera was grown on a mesocosm apparatus with three nutrient supply styles.•Ulva prolifera has higher P utilized rate during the whole culture period.•DIN supply content was essentially decisive for the output of U. prolifera.•The organic matter output of Ulva prolifera is begot according to DIN content.

The influence of nutrients on the growth of Ulva prolifera was studied in the SYS by field experiments. The wet weight of U. prolifera gradiently increased from 11.94% to 25.92% in proportion to contents of DIN supply, which indicated DIN content was essentially decisive for the output of U. prolifera blooms. Continuous nutrient supply could promote the growth of U. prolifera, indicated by the increase of growth rate from 10.46% of the batch culture to 42.17% of the in situ culture. The higher P utilized rate in all treatments showed P was the potential limited factor for the growth of U. prolifera. Moreover, it was calculated about 4.1 × 105 t organic matter was begot by U. prolifera in the whole Yellow Sea based on the statistical relationship between output of U. prolifera and DIN content. This work could be convenient to evaluate biomass and prepare enough tools to manage U. prolifera.