Identification of Aquatic Plant Species Suitable for Growing in Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture Systems in Southwest Bangladesh

Alif Layla Bablee (), Abul Bashar, Md. Mehedi Alam, Neaz A. Hasan, Mohammad Mahfujul Haque, Lars Hestbjerg Hansen and Niels O. G. Jørgensen ()
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Alif Layla Bablee: Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Abul Bashar: Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Md. Mehedi Alam: Department of Fishery Resources Conservation and Management, Khulna Agricultural University, Khulna 9100, Bangladesh
Neaz A. Hasan: Department of Fisheries and Marine Bioscience, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University, Gopalganj 8100, Bangladesh
Mohammad Mahfujul Haque: Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Lars Hestbjerg Hansen: Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Niels O. G. Jørgensen: Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1871 Frederiksberg, Denmark

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 24, 1-21

Abstract: Giant freshwater prawn ( Macrobrachium rosenbergii ) farming in Bangladesh began in the 1970s and has become a significant export industry. Despite its potential, there are concerns about the environmental sustainability of prawn farming due to its high greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint, but implementation of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) may help minimize the GHG emission. A key element in IMTA is using plants to take up inorganic nutrients released by the prawns, producing valuable plant products and cleaning the water. Using a quadrat sampling method, we conducted a field study in combined prawn and shrimp ponds, aquaculture fishponds, and non-aquaculture waters in south- west Bangladesh to characterize plant diversity and identify suitable species for IMTA in prawn farms. A total of 38 plant species were identified with densities ranging from 4.5–6.1 plants/m 2 in the aquaculture ponds to 11.6–17.1 plants/m 2 in the prawn/shrimp and the non-aquaculture ponds. Free-floating plants were the most abundant, followed by emergent, floating anchored, and submerged plants. Most plants have commercial values as food, fodder, fish feed, fertilizer, or medicines to local people. Our results suggest that species within the Oxalis , Ipomoea , Azolla, and Lemna genera are suitable extractive aquatic plants for the implementation of IMTA in prawn farms and may improve the sustainability of prawn production.

Keywords: integrated multi-trophic aquaculture; aquatic plants; prawn farming; GHG emission; southwest Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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