ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Marine Biotechnology and Bioproducts
Utilization of algal beach wracks as a supplementary substrate for enhancing mushroom production
Provisionally accepted
- 1Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- 2Mushroom Technological Centre of La Rioja, Autol, Spain
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Despite ecological protections, the Mar Menor lagoon in Spain continues to experience eutrophication, leading to uncontrolled proliferation of algae such as Caulerpa prolifera. When it decomposes, reduces oxygen and creates sludge, causing fish and other aquatic animals to suffocate. Storms and seasonal changes then wash the uprooted algae ashore, generating foul odors and sludge buildup along the lagoon's banks. In this study, the utilization of algal beach wracks as a component of substrates for mushroom cultivation was explored, assessing their potential to replace conventional lignocellulosic materials. Rinsed algal wracks were incorporated at 20%, 40%, and 60% (dry weight) into wheat straw-based substrates (patented formula nº 202430026), supplemented with 0, 0.63, 2.5, or 5% additional nutrients, to cultivate four different mushroom species: Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus), King Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus eryngii), Shimeji mushroom (Hypsizygus tessulatus), and Nameko mushroom (Pholiota nameko). Proximal analysis (moisture, pH, conductivity, nitrogen, organic load and C/N ratio), lignocellulosic content (lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose), mushroom yield, and biological efficiency (BE) were analyzed and compared among formulations. Results demonstrated that utilizing of 20% algal wracks signficantly enhanced BE, with increases above 300% for H. tessulatus, 11% for P. ostreatus, and 9% for P. nameko, while P. eryngii showed similar yield and biological efficiency to the standard substrate (46.53% BE in the standard substrate compared to 48.37% in the algae-enriched substrate). These findings highlight the feasibility and environmental value of using algal beach residues as sustainable substrates for mushroom production, offering a circular bioeconomy alternative to current disposal practices in the Mar Menor region.
Keywords: algal wracks, Biological efficiency, Caulerpa prolifera, Circular Bioeconomy, Eutrophication, Mushroom cultivation, Substrate formulation
Received: 19 Sep 2025; Accepted: 25 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lavega González, Rascón, Pérez-Clavijo and Soler-Rivas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rebeca Lavega González
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