Nanoplastics put stress on trees and impair photosynthesis
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It is well known that more and more plastic waste is ending up in soil and bodies of water. Researchers are particularly concerned about tiny micro- and nano-sized particles. It remains unclear how and to what extent they are able to enter living organisms—and what effect they may have on metabolism.
ETH researcher Denise Mitrano has now been able to show how trees take up nanoplastics contained in water through their roots. In collaboration with ecologist Arthur Gessler from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, she has demonstrated for the first time that this has a negative effect on photosynthesis. To do this, Mitrano used a method she had developed to quickly and precisely detect microplastics and nanoplastics.
First, the researchers grew 100 seedlings of each of two tree species with different water-use strategies: the wild service tree, a deciduous tree that is widespread in Europe and requires a lot of water, and the Norway spruce, which needs little water.
