Plant Mitigation of Nutrients in the Chesapeake Bay

Dr. Dan Terlizzi is the PI. The duration is from 1997-present. The purpose is to development of plant biological filtration strategies to reduce nutrient loadings from aquaculture and other sources into the Bay.

Commercially valuable plant species including seaweeds, submersed aquatic plants, and wetland plant species utilize nutrients that are the primary management concern in the Bay, Nitrogen and Phosphorous.

This project has been the research focus of several graduate students and was a technical foundation for a multi-state and multiple P.I. project investigating the use of aquatic plants in nutrient remediation through the Northeastern regional Aquaculture Center. We have characterized ammonia utilization in key species of macroalgae, submersed aquatic vegetation and aquatic plants and found linear non-saturable uptake in some algae, biphasic uptake in submersed aquatic plants and variability in aquatic plants ability to use nitrate. This information has been incorporated into presentations given to graduate and undergraduate classes in aquaculture and Chesapeake Bay Ecology as well as presentations concerning the Chesapeake and Water Quality to clientele groups.

Impacts - This work has produced publications informed presentations and contributed to proposal development (SARE, pending). Plant production using effluents can contribute to both N and C management based on credit/trading approaches. Macroalgal culture has potential in biofuel production.

For more information, contact Dr. Dan Terlizzi

Last updated: 02/7/2008