The demand for seaweeds has intensified in recent decades and will most certainly continue to expand. Several methods exist to evaluate the biomass of seaweeds in the field but most of them are destructive. The objectives of this study were (1) to develop and evaluate allometric equations for estimating seaweed biomass in the field for some harvested species and (2) to provide uniform calculated dry/wet biomass ratios to estimate the relative water content of these seaweeds. Sampling and measurements of more than 350 seaweed individuals were carried out for 8 species of commercial interest. Our models were fitted for both power and linear equations and were tested for different explanatory variables. While the power equation was found to be the best for predicting biomass of all species, we found that the best descriptive biometric variable varies according to seaweed morphology. Species with a bushy morphology were best described by the volume, while long stringy species were best described by the length and flat species by the surface. This study attempts to provide nondestructive tools that could be used by professional seaweed harvesters, their employers as well as scientists and public regulators, to assess the harvest potential of a field of seaweed in a nondestructive approach.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.