Lemnaceae
The project revolves around the aquatic plant sub-family of Lemnaceae – looking into its role in local environmental transformations and eco-systemic relationships. Floating on nitrogen and phosphorus-containing water bodies, Lemnaceae is often an indicator of human-impacted ecosystems. When it spreads on these polluted waters, its enormous growth rate can quickly cover the entire surface, making it a challenge for the local biodiversity of the environment to flourish.
The plant however has excellent purification properties that could be embedded within agricultural contexts to create a symbiotic exchange. The incorporation of the plant as an organic purification partner could help to reduce the impact of intensive agricultural systems on the environment – at the same time, the extremely fast-growing matter becomes the subject of research investigating its qualities as a constructive material for diverse applications.
[In collaboration with Valentin Patis]