New research reveals that two of the planet’s most urgent environmental stressors could impact the development and reproductive success of coastal plants.
Led by experts in plastic pollution and plant biology from the University of Plymouth’s School of Biological and Marine Sciences and the International Marine Litter Research Unit, the study—published in ‘Environmental Contamination’, is among the first to investigate how saltwater floods and microplastic contamination affect coastal plants. It found that while microplastics primarily impacted plant reproduction and flooding caused significant tissue death, the combined effect of both stressors, likely to increase due to climate change and rising plastic use, had a more pronounced impact on resource allocation.
This interaction led to altered growth and a temporary suppression of photosynthetic efficiency, affecting the plants’ ability to capture water, nutrients, and sunlight, which in turn influences ecosystem health. The research highlights the elevated risk microplastics pose when combined with other stressors like seawater flooding, underscoring the need to assess the threats of multiple co-occurring stressors on ecosystem resilience.
Dr. Winnie Courtene-Jones, the study’s lead author, noted, “This research underscores how microplastics, whether conventional or biodegradable, can adversely affect plant functioning. Furthermore, it shows that the impact of microplastics can be exacerbated by other environmental factors such as rising sea levels and coastal flooding. Studies like this help us understand the broader implications of microplastics for various organisms and ecosystem resilience.”
The study was part of the £2.6 million BIO-PLASTIC-RISK project led by the University of Plymouth and supported by the Natural Environment Research Council. It focused on buck’s horn plantain (Plantago coronopus), a low-growing perennial native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and also found in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Plants were grown in soil containing conventional or biodegradable plastics for 35 days, then subjected to seawater flooding for 72 hours to simulate storm and coastal surge conditions. They were monitored for an additional 24 days, assessing plant survival, size, photosynthetic efficiency, and flower production.
(ANI)