Plastic Soup Foundation
  • The issue
      • Plastic Soup
      • What is plastic?
      • Plastic in the environment
      • Harm to animals
      • Health effects
      • Regulations
      • Bogus solutions
      • Responsibilities
      • Sustainable development
      • Facts & Figures
  • What we do
      • Health
      • Microplastics
      • Education
      • Plastic Waste
  • How you can help
      • Consumer
      • Business
      • Community
      • Kids
      • At school
  • Solutions
  • News
  • Plastic Health Council
  • Donate
  • NL
  • EN
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
You are here: News Microbeads hinder the growth of duckweed

Microbeads hinder the growth of duckweed

Microplastics can have a negative effect on floating aquatic plants like duckweed and hinder their growth. This is the conclusion of scientists at the University of Ljubljana. Their findings recently appeared in the scientific journal, Environmental Pollution. Up to now, research has mostly been limited to the effects of microplastics on aquatic organisms such as animals and algae. This is the first time that it has been demonstrated that microplastics can have negative effects on plants.

Polyethylene is the most common plastic found in rivers. Its low density causes it to float and thus to easily come into contact with the floating duckweed, an important plant for fresh water ecosystems. In the laboratory, researchers tested the effects of exposure to polyethylene micro particles (between 0.03 mm and 0.6 mm in size) for seven days on duckweed. They used the microbeads of two easily available, locally purchased body scrubs.

A microplastic attached to one of the studied duckweed roots. Picture: Urban Kunej, Ljubljana University.

The plastic particles appear not to affect the growth of the leaves nor the number of roots. However, they have a clear negative effect on the length of the root. The plastic appears to attach to the surface of the roots, thereby hindering their growth. The microplastics in one of the scrubs tested had rough edges and those in the other scrub, smooth surfaces. The rough, irregular shaped microbeads also appeared to damage the cell membranes and to negatively affect the health of the roots’ cells. The smooth surfaced particles did not appear to do this.

Higher concentrations of microbeads did not have an increased adverse effect on the root system and thus microbeads impact can be rather linked to absolute presence of microbeads above a certain level. This also demonstrates that the damage is rather mechanical and not chemical. The researchers suggest that both types of microbeads – rough and smooth – negatively affect the roots and that the rough surface of the microbeads could be an important factor in the damage observed to the root cells.

Search

Categories

  • Health Files (39)
  • Clean rivers (24)
  • Plastic soupermarket (2)
  • Trash hunters (61)
  • What is plastic soup? (12)
  • What to do with plastic waste? (12)
  • Types of plastic (3)
  • Press releases (16)
  • Beat the microbead (18)
  • Solutions (24)
  • Don't use balloons (3)
  • Gezondheidseffecten (60)
  • Animal cruelty (13)
  • sponsoring campaign (1)
  • Microbeads (28)
  • Sponsor actions (3)
  • Ocean Clean Wash (12)
  • About us (1)
  • Plastic Urban Mining (4)
  • Blogs (16)
  • My little plastic footprint (5)
  • Plastic Soup Awards (3)
  • Synthetic fibers (20)
  • Political plume (3)
  • actions frontpage (1)
  • nurdles (5)
  • Pressreleases (2)
  • Microplastics in cosmetics (2)
  • Junior (1)
  • No category (1)
  • News (557)
  • What can you do? (13)

Subscribe to our newsletter

and stay informed about our activities!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Donate now and contribute

I'll donate € 5I'll donate € 10I'll donate € 15Other amount

More news

BAN ON SHIPPING PLASTIC WASTE OUTSIDE THE EU

Waste exports to countries outside the EU have been curbed. The Netherlands opposes an outright ban on shipping plastic waste.

Read more

FRUSTRATION ENDS UN MEETING ON PLASTICS

Third meeting on international plastic treaty overshadowed by failed negotiations

Read more

EUROPEAN MEASURES ADOPTED TO REDUCE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC PACKAGING

New measures to reduce single-use plastic not robust enough.

Read more

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi 13-19 Nov 2023

Health Scientist call for a strong Global Plastic Treaty 21 November 2023 Launch at Global Plastic Treaty In Nairobi, The […]

Read more

About us

  • Frontrunners
  • Mission & Vision
  • Working with Us
  • Annual Reports
  • Inquiries Press
  • Newsletter
  • Plastic Health Council

Our approach

  • Business Community
  • Funds & Partners
  • Ambassadors
  • Plastic Soup Awards
  • Plastic Soup Atlas
  • Facts & Figures
DONATE
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • LinkedIn

  • YouTube

  • Contact

 
© Copyright - Plastic Soup Foundation
  • Contact
  • Privacy policy
  • GDPR Consent Settings
Ioniqa technology enables limitless PET recyclingPeak Plastic 2100
Scroll to top

GDPR settings

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

x
Settings

Your privacy and this website...

This website uses some cookies which are placed on your device. Your web browser stores these cookies when you visit our Website: www.plasticsoupfoundation.org. These cookies will be retrieved when you visit or use our Website again. This allows us to recognise you as a previous visitor/user.

Functional technology enables a website to remember information that changes the way the website behaves or looks, like your preferred language or the region that you are in. No personalised information is collected.

See details

This consent is used to track visitors across websites. The intention is to display ads that are relevant and engaging for the individual user and thereby more valuable for publishers and third party advertisers.

See details

This consent helps website owners to understand how visitors interact with websites by collecting and reporting.

See details
Forget my settings Settings have been forgotten