Aquaponic trends, configurations, operational parameters, and microbial dynamics: a concise review

Meeting the global demand for water and food using conventional production strategies often entails substantial energy consumption and waste generation. In contrast, aquaponics, an emerging technology characterized by low environmental impact, is being proposed as a sustainable long-term solution for food production. However, ensuring the sustainable advancement of this technology requires a comprehensive understanding of the pivotal roles microbial communities plays within aquaponics systems. To gain deeper insights into the current state of aquaponics research, an extensive bibliometric analysis was conducted employing the “Vos viewer” software. This analysis facilitates examining and visualizing the knowledge map in aquaponics research, particularly in emerging areas such as aquaponic scale-up and microbiome dynamics. Microbes play crucial roles in the nitrification process and the efficient recovery of micronutrients from feed and fish waste, rendering them readily available for plant root uptake. Recent advancements in metagenomics and next-generation sequencing technologies have revealed the dynamic and diverse nature of the microbiome across various components of aquaponics systems. Understanding the distribution of microbial communities in aquaponics can simplify the identification of interactions and activities within the microbiota. This review aims to elucidate the current trends, diverse aquaponics configurations, and the fundamental significance of microbiomes in the context of aquaponics. It highlights that research in this domain is still relatively nascent, necessitating further exploration to comprehend the scaling-up process and establish a comprehensive understanding of the intricate relationship between microbiomes and aquaponics.