Efficiency of Salicornia neei to Treat Aquaculture Effluent from a Hypersaline and Artificial Wetland

Abstract

In this study, we evaluated the potential of Salicornia neei, a halophyte plant native to South America, to treat saline effluents with simulated concentration of ammonium-N (Amm) and nitrate-N (Nit) in a similar manner to land-based marine aquaculture effluents. Plants were cultivated for 74 days in drainage lysimeters under three treatments of seawater fertilized with: (1) Nit + Amm, (2) Nit, or (3) without fertilizer (Control). Over five repetitions, nitrogen removal efficiency (RE) was high in both treatments (Nit + Amm = 89.6% ± 1.0%; Nit 88.8% ± 0.9%), whereas the nitrogen removal rate (RR) was nonlinear and concentration-dependent (RRday1–4: Nit + Amm = 2.9 ± 0.3 mg L−1 d−1, Nit = 2.4 ± 0.5 mg L−1 d−1; RRday5–8: Nit + Amm = 0.8 ± 0.2 mg L−1 d−1, Nit = 1.0 ± 0.2 mg L−1 d−1). Effluent salinity increased from 40.6 to 49.4 g L−1 during the experiment, with no observed detrimental effects on RE or RR. High nitrogen removal efficiency and significant biomass production were observed (Nit + Amm = 11.3 ± 2.0 kg m−2; Nit = 10.0 ± 0.8 kg m−2; Control = 4.6 ± 0.6 kg m−2) demonstrate that artificial wetlands of S. neei can be used for wastewater treatment in saline aquaculture in South America.

From salt pan to saucepan: Salicornia, a halophytic vegetable with an array of potential health benefits

“…Consumption of green salt produced from Salicornia is nutritionally more beneficial than table salt since Salicornia has significant amounts of main nutrients: proteins, carbohydrates, potassium, calcium, and magnesium F I G U R E 3 Reported global distribution of 31 Salicornia spp. throughout temperate and tropical regions (Ahmed et al, 2021;Alonso & Crespo, 2008;Alonso et al, 2017;Ball et al, 2017;Diaz et al, 2020;Greenway & Osmond, 1972;Kadereit et al, 2007;Rixon et al, 2021). (Lima et al, 2020;Panth et al, 2016).…”

“…Reported global distribution of 31 Salicornia spp. throughout temperate and tropical regions (Ahmed et al., 2021; Alonso & Crespo, 2008; Alonso et al., 2017; Ball et al., 2017; Diaz et al., 2020; Greenway & Osmond, 1972; Kadereit et al., 2007; Rixon et al., 2021). …”

Dynamic of active microbial diversity in rhizosphere sediments of halophytes used for bioremediation of earthen shrimp ponds

“…Marine and brackish aquaculture systems are therefore limited to the use of salt tolerant plants, known as halophytic [ 11 ]. Due to their salinity tolerance, the integration of halophytes in marine aquaculture systems with the aim of remediating nutrient-rich waste products, has received growing attention in the past few years [ 12 – 14 ]. The efficiency of halophyte bioremediation has been proven in aquaponics and sand-substrate systems, with significant removal of aquaculture wastes [ 14 , 15 ].…”

RNA-Seq analysis and transcriptome assembly of Salicornia neei reveals a powerful system for ammonium detoxification

“…Similar to other related species from Europe and North America, S. neei has attracted great interest due to its potential use as a leafy green food, because it contains significant amounts of nutrients and functional metabolites [3,4]. Its potential to germinate and be cultivated in different salinity gradients and nitrogen concentrations has recently been evaluated in land-based white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) farming systems [5,6] and constructed wetlands (CWs) [1].…”

“…Salicornia neei has been proposed for the treatment of saline wastewater produced by land-based aquaculture effluents in South America [1]. S. neei is a herbaceous succulent hydrohalophyte that is abundantly distributed throughout much of the western coastline of the South Pacific [2].…”