Species-Specific Growth Responses and Biomass Accumulation in Native Korean Duckweeds Under Diverse Cultivation Conditions

Abstract Duckweeds are small, fast-growing aquatic monocots with increasing potential as sustainable bioresources. However, their effective use requires species-level characterization to guide rational species selection and cultivation optimization. In Korea, native duckweed species remain poorly characterized, and comparative analyses among species are limited. Here, we compared four representative native Korean duckweeds— Spirodela polyrhiza , Landoltia punctata , Lemna minor , and Wolffia globosa —under different photoperiod, temperature, and light-source conditions. The four species exhibited distinct growth strategies, reflected in differences in biomass accumulation, frond expansion, clonal propagation, and stress-related traits. Lemna minor maintained relatively stable growth across diverse conditions, including fluctuating low-temperature regimes, suggesting broad environmental tolerance. By contrast, Landoltia punctata showed pronounced condition-dependent responses, particularly under continuous illumination and LED-based light conditions, indicating sensitivity to light-associated stress. Low-temperature treatments further revealed species-specific differences in turion formation, highlighting distinct strategies for balancing active growth with stress survival under unfavorable conditions. Together, these findings establish a species-level framework for matching native Korean duckweed species to cultivation environments and production goals, supporting the strategic use of local duckweed resources for scalable and sustainable biomass production.