TY - JOUR
T1 - Phycoremediated Microalgae and Cyanobacteria Biomass as Biofertilizer for Sustainable Agriculture
T2 - A Holistic Biorefinery Approach to Promote Circular Bioeconomy
AU - Renganathan, Prabhaharan
AU - Gaysina, Lira A.
AU - Holguín-Peña, Ramón Jaime
AU - Sainz-Hernández, Juan Carlos
AU - Ortega-García, Jesus
AU - Rueda-Puente, Edgar Omar
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 by the authors.
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - The increasing global population has raised concerns about meeting growing food demand. Consequently, the agricultural sector relies heavily on chemical fertilizers to enhance crop production. However, the extensive use of chemical fertilizers can disrupt the natural balance of the soil, causing structural damage and changes in the soil microbiota, as well as affecting crop yield and quality. Biofertilizers and biostimulants derived from microalgae and cyanobacteria are promising sustainable alternatives that significantly influence plant growth and soil health owing to the production of diverse biomolecules, such as N-fixing enzymes, phytohormones, polysaccharides, and soluble amino acids. Despite these benefits, naturally producing high-quality microalgal biomass is challenging owing to various environmental factors. Controlled settings, such as artificial lighting and photobioreactors, allow continuous biomass production, but high capital and energy costs impede large-scale production of microalgal biomass. Sustainable methods, such as wastewater bioremediation and biorefinery strategies, are potential opportunities to overcome these challenges. This review comprehensively summarizes the plant growth-promoting activities of microalgae and elucidates the mechanisms by which various microalgal metabolites serve as biostimulants and their effects on plants, using distinct application methods. Furthermore, it addresses the challenges of biomass production in wastewater and explores biorefinery strategies for enhancing the sustainability of biofertilizers.
AB - The increasing global population has raised concerns about meeting growing food demand. Consequently, the agricultural sector relies heavily on chemical fertilizers to enhance crop production. However, the extensive use of chemical fertilizers can disrupt the natural balance of the soil, causing structural damage and changes in the soil microbiota, as well as affecting crop yield and quality. Biofertilizers and biostimulants derived from microalgae and cyanobacteria are promising sustainable alternatives that significantly influence plant growth and soil health owing to the production of diverse biomolecules, such as N-fixing enzymes, phytohormones, polysaccharides, and soluble amino acids. Despite these benefits, naturally producing high-quality microalgal biomass is challenging owing to various environmental factors. Controlled settings, such as artificial lighting and photobioreactors, allow continuous biomass production, but high capital and energy costs impede large-scale production of microalgal biomass. Sustainable methods, such as wastewater bioremediation and biorefinery strategies, are potential opportunities to overcome these challenges. This review comprehensively summarizes the plant growth-promoting activities of microalgae and elucidates the mechanisms by which various microalgal metabolites serve as biostimulants and their effects on plants, using distinct application methods. Furthermore, it addresses the challenges of biomass production in wastewater and explores biorefinery strategies for enhancing the sustainability of biofertilizers.
KW - agro-technologies
KW - crop productivity
KW - growth promotion
KW - organic agriculture
KW - phycoremediation
KW - stimulation
KW - waste
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85213568408&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3390/biomass4040059
DO - 10.3390/biomass4040059
M3 - Artículo de revisión
AN - SCOPUS:85213568408
SN - 2673-8783
VL - 4
SP - 1047
EP - 1077
JO - Biomass (Switzerland)
JF - Biomass (Switzerland)
IS - 4
ER -