Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Environ Microbiol Rep. 2024 Jun;16(3):e13302. doi: 10.1111/1758-2229.13302.
Boreal freshwaters go through four seasons, however, studies about the decomposition of terrestrial and plastic compounds often focus only on summer. We compared microbial decomposition of C-polyethylene, C-polystyrene, and C-plant litter (Typha latifolia) by determining the biochemical fate of the substrate carbon and identified the microbial decomposer taxa in humic lake waters in four seasons. For the first time, the annual decomposition rate including separated seasonal variation was calculated for microplastics and plant litter in the freshwater system. Polyethylene decomposition was not detected, whereas polystyrene and plant litter were degraded in all seasons. In winter, decomposition rates of polystyrene and plant litter were fivefold and fourfold slower than in summer, respectively. Carbon from each substrate was mainly respired in all seasons. Plant litter was utilized efficiently by various microbial groups, whereas polystyrene decomposition was limited to Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. The decomposition was not restricted only to the growth season, highlighting that the decomposition of both labile organic matter and extremely recalcitrant microplastics continues throughout the seasons.
北方淡水经历四个季节,然而,关于陆地和塑料化合物分解的研究通常仅集中在夏季。我们通过确定基质碳的生化命运,比较了 C 型聚乙烯、C 型聚苯乙烯和 C 型植物凋落物(香蒲)的微生物分解作用,并在四个季节中确定了腐殖质湖水中的微生物分解者分类群。我们首次计算了淡水系统中小微塑料和植物凋落物的年度分解率,包括分离的季节性变化。未检测到聚乙烯的分解,而聚苯乙烯和植物凋落物在所有季节都被降解。在冬季,聚苯乙烯和植物凋落物的分解速率分别比夏季慢五倍和四倍。每个基质的碳主要在所有季节中被呼吸。植物凋落物被各种微生物群有效地利用,而聚苯乙烯的分解仅限于 Alpha-和 Gammaproteobacteria。分解不仅限于生长季节,这突出表明,两种易分解的有机物质和极其难分解的微塑料的分解在整个季节都在继续。