Dynamics of the aquatic plant Pistia stratiotes and its incorporation into a compost production system

One of the drivers of change affecting Peruvian coastal wetlands is the uncontrolled growth of invasive aquatic plants. This research aimed to model the biomass production of a P. stratiotes population (Santa Rosa Wetland in Chancay-Lima) and, from this, propose a compost and vermicompost production system. The biomass of P. stratiotes was recorded (October 2022-February 2023) to obtain mathematical models that explain its evolution over time. Likewise, compost production systems were built using eight different traditional composting and vermicomposting technologies; in each case, the quality and efficiency of the compost obtained was evaluated. The best models for biomass growth were a) for the winter months the exponential decline model (R² = 0.97; correlation coefficient = 0.99; St. error =0.11) and b) for the summer months the geometric model (R² = 0.80; correlation coefficient=0.90; St. error = 0.55). The compost with the best quality and efficiency was traditional composting, with 30 % biomass and with the addition of the microbial accelerator. The growth of P. stratiotes recorded in doubling time both in summer (17.70 days) and winter (20.64 days), suggests carrying out four extractions per year, obtaining a total production of four tons of compost, under the exponential descent model for a controlled management of P. stratiotes biomass growth in the main lagoon.