Samim Borbhuyan and Tapati Das
Abstract
As per the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD) of IUCN, there are a total of 44 aquatic invasive macrophytes (AIMs) existing in different countries across different continents of the world. Invasive species cause deleterious effects on native species and ecosystems as well as human well-being through trade-offs in various ecosystem services. This review attempts to compile information on repurposing AIMs into valuable commodities. When we compiled the information for over a period of three decades, from 1991 to 2020, only 392 publications have been found amongst which studies on Pistia stratiotes has been the highest followed by Eichhornia crassipes, Azolla pinnata, Ceratophyllum demersum, Hydrilla verticillata, and Typha latifolia. Based on the compilation it was observed that most of the studies were done on potential for bioremediation followed by human medicine, fish food, human food and fodder while scanty studies have been done on potentials of such species as a source of veterinary medicine, mulch, and compost. When compared it was found that in India the uses of AIMs are comparatively more than rest of the world. Most of such species are used either as human medicine or food, though there are much more prospects for their utilization. Among the various AIMs found in India, majority of the reports were on Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes, followed by Hydrilla verticillata and Azolla pinnata. Our compilation revealed that despite ubiquitous nature of AIMs in India, studies related to their diverse potential uses are relatively less. For contemporary demands on various management and conservation issues of our ecosystems vis-Ã -vis industrial development and circular economy, merging up of traditional knowledge and scientific investigation has a great potential. We conclude that there is a need for more extensive systematic studies on sustainable nature-based solution for effective management of AIMs vis-a-vis converting these harmful species into useful commodities.