Microplastics have found their way to almost all of the world's flora and fauna. They have been found in the soil, in rivers, in our food and bottled water. Microplastics were found in water trapped in plant leaf axils.
The University of Preov, Slovakia, along with Katarna Fogaov, Peter Manko, and Jozef Obona set out to study the organisms living in the little water puddles.
The leaves that grow on the stem above each other are characteristic of the teasels. They form cup-like structures when they clasp the stem.
There is a very short-term occurrence of only three to four months for teasel phytotelmata.
They found fragments and fibers that were different colors and were identified as microplastics.
The researchers wrote in their paper that the plants are small and have short lifespans. How were they polluted with plastic?
The most likely source of the fragments and fibers was the polluted atmosphere. There is a theory that snails may have moved from the soil to the body.
The first finding of microplastics in small short-term water reservoirs created by plants is further evidence that contamination of this kind spreads through various pathways and probably no environment on Earth is safe.
On the other hand, the results of our research can be used to investigate the spread of microplastic pollution and the impact it has on the plants themselves.
They suggest that due to their abundance and theoretical ability to capture microplastics in several ways from the environment, tea tree can be a good indicator of their presence.
The first discovery of microplastic pollution of habitats of this type is brought by our publication, as well as the first proposal of a new approach to the use of plants as bioindicators.
More information: Katarína Fogašová et al, The first evidence of microplastics in plant-formed fresh-water micro-ecosystems: Dipsacus teasel phytotelmata in Slovakia contaminated with MPs, BioRisk (2022). DOI: 10.3897/biorisk.18.87433
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