Nitrogen budgets for freshwater aquaculture and mariculture in a large tropical island - A case study for Hainan Island 1998-2018

Yangmei Jiao; Hongwei Zhao; Zichen Li; Xianming Tang; Yuanchao Li; Shiquan Chen; Zhiqiang Zhu; Tao Wang; Maryna Strokal; Carolien Kroeze

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105642

Nitrogen budgets for freshwater aquaculture and mariculture in a large tropical island - A case study for Hainan Island 1998-2018

Mar Environ Res. 2022 May:177:105642. doi: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105642. Epub 2022 May 5.

Authors

Yangmei Jiao¹, Hongwei Zhao², Zichen Li³, Xianming Tang⁴, Yuanchao Li⁴, Shiquan Chen⁴, Zhiqiang Zhu⁵, Tao Wang⁶, Maryna Strokal⁷, Carolien Kroeze⁷

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of A&F Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, College of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
² State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of A&F Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, College of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, Wageningen, 6708, PB, the Netherlands. Electronic address: hwzhao@hainanu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China; Center for Eco-Environment Restoration of Hainan Province & Key Laboratory of A&F Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, College of Environment and Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China.
⁴ Hainan Academy of Marine and Fishery Sciences, Haikou, 571126, China.
⁵ College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, China. Electronic address: zqzhu@hainanu.edu.cn.
⁶ School of Life Sciences, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China.
⁷ Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 3, Wageningen, 6708, PB, the Netherlands.

PMID: 35567873
DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2022.105642

Abstract

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient in aquaculture. It is also an important factor in coastal and river eutrophication. We present an island-scale model to study the nitrogen flows in different aquaculture systems in Hainan Island during 1998-2018. The result indicated that nitrogen losses associated with pond sludge, wastewater discharge and gaseous emission increased by a factor of 1.4, 4.6 and 3.2, respectively. Sludge and wastewater account for 84% of the total losses to the environment. During the past 20 years, aquacultural yields and the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) improved considerably in Hainan Island. Nevertheless, nitrogen losses to the environment increased significantly as well, with negative effects for local ecosystems. In the future, sustainable aquacultural practices are needed to improve NUE and to reduce nitrogen losses to the environment.

Keywords: Aquaculture; Environmental loss; Hainan island; Model; NUE; Nitrogen; Nutrient.

MeSH terms

Aquaculture
Ecosystem*
Environmental Monitoring
Fresh Water
Nitrogen* / analysis
Sewage
Wastewater

Substances

Sewage
Waste Water
Nitrogen