Bioremediation and nutrient migration during blooms of Ulva in the Yellow Sea, China

Blooms of Ulva have been recorded for 10 consecutive years since 2007 in the Yellow Sea, China. There have been many studies estimating economic, environmental and social costs of these blooms. The present study evaluated potential environmental benefits of the removal of blooms. During the blooms of Ulva in 2013, the fresh biomass of Ulva increased from 1.01x10(4) metric tons to 4.1x10(6) tons in about 50 days, with the average growth rate of 12.80% d(-1). The potential maximum nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon removal by the green tide was about 7.46x10(3), 1.05 x10(3) and 1.73x10(5) tons, respectively. These results suggest that the harvest of Ulva from the Yellow Sea may provide invaluable ecosystem services by removing nutrients from these eutrophic waters prior to the onset of the death phase of Ulva.