Dahl Martin, Bergman Sanne, Björk Mats, Diaz-Almela Elena, Granberg Maria, Gullström Martin, Leiva-Dueñas Carmen, Magnusson Kerstin, Marco-Méndez Candela, Piñeiro-Juncal Nerea, Mateo Miguel Ángel
Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Environ Pollut. 2021 Mar 15;273:116451. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116451. Epub 2021 Jan 8.
Plastic pollution is emerging as a potential threat to the marine environment. In the current study, we selected seagrass meadows, known to efficiently trap organic and inorganic particles, to investigate the concentrations and dynamics of microplastics in their soil. We assessed microplastic contamination and accumulation in Pb dated soil cores collected in Posidonia oceanica meadows at three locations along the Spanish Mediterranean coast, with two sites located in the Almería region (Agua Amarga and Roquetas) and one at Cabrera Island (Santa Maria). Almería is known for its intense agricultural industry with 30 000 ha of plastic-covered greenhouses, while the Cabrera Island is situated far from urban areas. Microplastics were extracted using enzymatic digestion and density separation. The particles were characterized by visual identification and with Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and related to soil age-depth chronologies. Our findings showed that the microplastic contamination and accumulation was negligible until the mid-1970s, after which plastic particles increased dramatically, with the highest concentrations of microplastic particles (MPP) found in the recent (since 2012) surface soil of Agua Amarga (3819 MPP kg), followed by the top-most layers of the soil of the meadows in Roquetas (2173 kg) and Santa Maria (68-362 kg). The highest accumulation rate was seen in the Roquetas site (8832 MPP m yr). The increase in microplastics in the seagrass soil was associated to land-use change following the intensification of the agricultural industry in the area, with a clear relationship between the development of the greenhouse industry in Almería and the concentration of microplastics in the historical soil record. This study shows a direct linkage between intense anthropogenic activity, an extensive use of plastics and high plastic contamination in coastal marine ecosystems such as seagrass meadows. We highlight the need of proper waste management to protect the coastal environment from continuous pollution.
塑料污染正成为对海洋环境的潜在威胁。在当前的研究中，我们选择了已知能有效捕获有机和无机颗粒的海草草甸，来调查其土壤中微塑料的浓度和动态。我们评估了在西班牙地中海沿岸三个地点的大洋海神草甸采集的铅测年土壤芯中的微塑料污染和积累情况，其中两个地点位于阿尔梅里亚地区（阿瓜马尔加和罗克塔斯），一个位于卡布雷拉岛（圣玛丽亚）。阿尔梅里亚以其集约化农业产业而闻名，有3万公顷的塑料覆盖温室，而卡布雷拉岛远离市区。微塑料通过酶消化和密度分离法提取。通过目视识别和傅里叶变换红外（FTIR）光谱对颗粒进行表征，并与土壤年龄 - 深度年表相关联。我们的研究结果表明，直到20世纪70年代中期，微塑料污染和积累都可以忽略不计，此后塑料颗粒急剧增加，在阿瓜马尔加最近（自2012年以来）的表层土壤中发现微塑料颗粒（MPP）浓度最高（3819 MPP/kg），其次是罗克塔斯草甸土壤的最上层（2173 kg）和圣玛丽亚（68 - 362 kg）。罗克塔斯地点的积累速率最高（8832 MPP/m²/年）。海草土壤中微塑料的增加与该地区农业产业集约化后的土地利用变化有关，阿尔梅里亚温室产业的发展与历史土壤记录中的微塑料浓度之间存在明显关系。这项研究表明，强烈的人为活动、塑料的广泛使用与海草草甸等沿海海洋生态系统中的高塑料污染之间存在直接联系。我们强调需要进行适当的废物管理，以保护沿海环境免受持续污染。
