Birch trees remove microplastics from the soil

 

Researchers at Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei have shown that birch trees absorb microplastics through their roots during the growth phase. Birch trees (Betula pendula Roth.) have been used to clean contaminated land because they sequester and store industrial pollutants and heavy metals in their tissues, which then allows the colonisation of microbial communities that breakdown all types of hydrocarbons. This tree species' roots grow close to the soil surface, where microplastic pollution are found. The researchers labelled microplastic beads (5-50μm) with fluorescent dye and added them to the soil of potted trees. After five months, they examined root samples using fluorescence and confocal laser scanning microscopy and found between 5 and 17 percent of the plastics absorbed.

Kat Austen, Joana MacLean, Daniel Balanzategui, Franz Hölker; "Microplastic inclusion in birch tree roots"; Science of The Total Environment; Volume 808, 2022, 152085, ISSN 0048-9697



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