The chemical pollution in aquatic environment: re-evaluating herbicide use for aquatic weed management

The longstanding reliance on synthetic herbicides for aquatic weed management has imposed a significant chemical legacy on freshwater ecosystems. While effective for short-term control, these compounds often persist in water and sediments, leading to bioaccumulation and long-term ecological shifts. This review critically re-evaluates this dependency, synthesizing evidence of direct and indirect impacts on non-target organisms, including phytoplankton, invertebrates, and fish, often via sublethal physiological and behavioral effects. The rapid degradation of plant biomass can trigger regime shifts, such as algal blooms and oxygen depletion, thereby altering ecosystem structure and function. Furthermore, the challenges of herbicide resistance and the underestimated risks of commercial formulations and chemical mixtures underscore the limitations of a purely chemical approach. We argue for an urgent paradigm shift towards integrated weed management (IWM). This review provides a critical synthesis that repositions herbicides as a targeted, last-resort tool within a broader, ecologically sustainable framework. This framework prioritizes prevention, biological control, and ecological restoration to safeguard aquatic health, moving beyond the entrenched, chemical-centric paradigm. Clinical trial number: not applicable.