LIEC-CNRS, University of Lorraine, Nancy and Metz, France.
Irstea, UR RECOVER, Pôle ECLA, Aix en Provence, France.
Water Res. 2020 Mar 1;170:115295. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.115295. Epub 2019 Nov 11.
There is increasing recognition that functional bioindicators are needed for ecosystem health assessments. In this perspective, cotton strip assays are widely considered as a standard method to account for organic matter decomposition in streams. However, cotton cultivation and manufacture raise both environmental and societal dramatic issues that are - in our opinion - irreconcilable with the objectives of bioindication. In this study, we assessed the relevance of four alternative - eco-friendly - textiles (made of organic cotton, hemp and linen) by comparing their chemical composition and degradation rates in six streams. Chemical composition exhibited low variations among textiles, but contrasted sharply with the expectation that cotton is mostly composed of cellulose. Moreover, surprisingly high nutrient (0.49% N) contents occurred in the conventional cotton strips compared with the organic textiles (N < 0.12%). All textiles provided similar degradation rates across the six streams, meaning that they could be interchangeably used as alternatives to conventional cotton strips. We thus call for the adoption of such ethical and eco-friendly tools as 'next-generation' indicators for the functioning of stream ecosystem.
人们越来越认识到，生态系统健康评估需要功能性生物指标。从这个角度来看，棉条分析被广泛认为是一种标准方法，可以用来解释溪流中有机物的分解。然而，棉花的种植和制造带来了环境和社会的巨大问题，我们认为这些问题与生物指标的目标是不可调和的。在这项研究中，我们通过比较六种溪流中四种替代生态友好型纺织品（有机棉、大麻和亚麻制成）的化学组成和降解率，评估了它们的相关性。化学组成在纺织品之间表现出较低的变化，但与棉花主要由纤维素组成的预期形成鲜明对比。此外，与有机纺织品（<0.12% N）相比，传统棉条中出人意料地含有高营养物质（0.49% N）。所有纺织品在六种溪流中的降解率都相似，这意味着它们可以作为传统棉条的替代品互换使用。因此，我们呼吁采用这种符合伦理道德和环保的工具作为溪流生态系统功能的“下一代”指标。
