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The Chemical Composition and Technological Properties of Seagrasses a Basis for Their Use (A Review)

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Sabkha Ecosystems

Part of the book series: Tasks for Vegetation Science ((TAVS,volume 47))

Abstract

Seagrasses (Zostera marina, Z. noltii, Ruppia cirrosa) and other higher marine plants (Potamogeton pectinatus, etc.) are widely distributed in the ocean, and they occupy large areas of shallow gulfs and bays of the Black Sea. The usage survey of seagrasses in agriculture, industry and pharmacology has been completed, and the results of experiments on the uses of Black Sea seagrass in the diet of livestock are described, including the chemical composition. Zostera marina contains a significant amount of organic matter and nutrients with valuable trace elements whose concentrations are higher than in most terrestrial food plants. However, its organic matter does not have a high nutritional value due to the low protein content, the imbalance of its amino-acid composition and poorly assimilated lignin. The potential for economic seagrass utilization is mainly based in aquaculture, because seagrasses are keystones of the coastal ecosystems, and many of them are protected by various conventions and agreements, and they are biological ocean “hot spots”. Seagrass aquaculture can play a role in biodiversity conservation of the native communities and populations from their extraction for commercial use.

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Acknowledgements

The research leading to these results has received funding from the UNESCO, UNESCO Doha Office, the Permanent Secretariat to the Commission for the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (Contract No:07.201/2006/455221/SUB/D2) and the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant Agreement No. 287844 for the project “Towards COast to COast NETworks of marine protected areas (from the shore to the high and deep sea), coupled with sea-based wind energy potential” (COCONET).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas (IBSS), 2 Nakhimov Ave., 99011, Sevastopol, Ukraine

    N. A. Milchakova

  2. Ecological Sciences Advisor – Ethiopia and African Union, UNESCO Liaison Office in Addis Ababa with the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa, UNECA Building, 1st floor, New Building, 1177, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Benno Böer

  3. Odessa Branch of IBSS, 37 Pushkinskaya St., 65011, Odessa, Ukraine

    L. I. Boyko & D. V. Mikulich

Authors
  1. N. A. Milchakova
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  2. Benno Böer
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  3. L. I. Boyko
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  4. D. V. Mikulich
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Correspondence to N. A. Milchakova .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Sustainable Halophyte Utilization (ISHU), University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan

    M. Ajmal Khan  & Bilquees Gul  & 

  2. Ecological Sciences Advisor – Ethiopia and African Union UNESCO Liaison Office in Addis Ababa with the African Union and the Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Benno Böer

  3. Botany Department & Center for Environmental Studies, Ege University, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

    Münir Öztürk

  4. Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) Marine Environment Research Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Thabit Zahran Al Abdessalaam

  5. Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences, UNESCO Headquarters Natural Sciences Sector, Paris, Cedex, France

    Miguel Clüsener-Godt

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Milchakova, N.A., Böer, B., Boyko, L.I., Mikulich, D.V. (2014). The Chemical Composition and Technological Properties of Seagrasses a Basis for Their Use (A Review). In: Khan, M.A., Böer, B., Öztürk, M., Al Abdessalaam, T.Z., Clüsener-Godt, M., Gul, B. (eds) Sabkha Ecosystems. Tasks for Vegetation Science, vol 47. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7411-7_22

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