Journal: Environmental Pollution

Abbreviation

Environ Pollut

Publisher

Elsevier

Journal Volumes

ISSN

0269-7491
1878-2450
1873-6424

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Publications 1 - 10 of 127
  • Microbial plankton uptake enhances the degradation of a biodegradable microplastic
    Item type: Journal Article
    Schenone, Luca; Capitani, Leonardo; Lora, Ulises; et al. (2025)
    Environmental Pollution
    The use of biodegradable plastics as an alternative to conventional non-degradable synthetic polymers is gaining market to reduce plastic pollution, however, their biodegradability is not unconditional. In this study, we hypothesized that planktonic protists (nanoflagellates and ciliates) increase the degradation of the biodegradable PLGA (poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid) due to particle uptake. We conducted uptake and degradation experiments using PLGA microspheres of 4.9 ± 2.8 μm diameter and the microbial planktonic community from the Baltic Sea. We found that planktonic protists ingested PLGA of different sizes, with ciliates displaying higher clearance rates and ingesting larger particles compared to nanoflagellates. In addition, we observed a more pronounced decrease in PLGA concentration and particle size over time in the presence of seawater containing microbial plankton compared to a control with only ultrapure water, suggesting that the presence of these organisms increases the rate of degradation of PLGA in marine ecosystems. Altogether, these results indicate that microbial plankton enhances the degradation of biodegradable microplastics like PLGA, specifically through rapid uptake by planktonic protists. These findings highlight the role of particle ingestion by planktonic protists in the fate of the so-called biodegradable plastics when they enter aquatic ecosystems.
  • Binary mixtures of neonicotinoids show different transcriptional changes than single neonicotinoids in honeybees (Apis mellifera)
    Item type: Journal Article
    Christen, Verena; Bachofer, Sara; Fent, Karl (2017)
    Environmental Pollution
  • Root responses to soil Ni heterogeneity in a hyperaccumulator and a non-accumulator species
    Item type: Journal Article
    Moradi, A.B.; Conesa, Hector M.; Robinson, Brett H.; et al. (2009)
    Environmental Pollution
  • Modelling the risk of Pb and PAH intervention value exceedance in allotment soils by robust logistic regression
    Item type: Journal Article
    Papritz, Andreas Jürg; Reichard, P. U. (2009)
    Environmental Pollution
  • Tracing the fate of phosphorus fertilizer derived cadmium in soil-fertilizer-wheat systems using enriched stable isotope labeling
    Item type: Journal Article
    Bracher, Christoph; Frossard, Emmanuel; Bigalke, Moritz; et al. (2021)
    Environmental Pollution
    Applying mineral phosphorus (P) fertilizers introduces a considerable input of the toxic heavy metal cadmium (Cd) into arable soils. This study investigates the fate of P fertilizer derived Cd (Cddff) in soil-wheat systems using a novel combination of enriched stable Cd isotope mass balances, sequential extractions, and Bayesian isotope mixing models. We applied an enriched 111Cd labeled mineral P fertilizer to arable soils from two long-term field trials with distinct soil properties (a strongly acidic pH and a neutral pH) and distinct past mineral P fertilizer application rates. We then cultivated wheat in a pot trial on these two soils. In the neutral soil, Cd concentrations in the soil and the wheat increased with increasing past mineral P fertilizer application rates. This was not the case in the strongly acidic soil. Less than 2.3% of freshly applied Cddff was taken up by the whole wheat plant. Most of the Cddff remained in the soil and was predominantly (>95% of freshly applied Cddff) partitioned into the easily mobilizable acetic acid soluble fraction (F1) and the potentially mobile reducible fraction (F2). Soil pH was the determining factor for the partitioning of Cddff into F1, as revealed through a recovery of about 40% of freshly applied Cddff in F1 in the neutral pH soil compared with about 60% in the strongly acidic soil. Isotope mixing models showed that F1 was the predominant source of Cd for wheat on both soils and that it contributed to over 80% of the Cd that was taken up by wheat. By tracing the fate of Cddff in entire soil-plant systems using different isotope source tracing approaches, we show that the majority of Cddff remains mobilizable and is potentially plant available in the subsequent crop cycle.
  • Negative responses of Collembola in a forest soil (Alptal, Switzerland) under experimentally increased N deposition
    Item type: Journal Article
    Xu, Guo-Liang; Schleppi, Patrick; Li, Mai-He; et al. (2009)
    Environmental Pollution
  • The within-field spatial variation in rice grain Cd concentration is determined by soil redox status and pH during grain filling
    Item type: Journal Article
    Chen, Hongping; Wang, Peng; Gu, Yi; et al. (2020)
    Environmental Pollution
  • LED streetlight characteristics alter the functional composition of ground-dwelling invertebrates
    Item type: Journal Article
    van Koppenhagen, Nicola; Haller, Jörg; Kappeler, Julia; et al. (2024)
    Environmental Pollution
    Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) has been identified as a primary driver of environmental change in the 21st century with key impacts on ecosystems. At the same time, developments of LED lighting systems with adjustable parameters—such as color temperature and light intensity—may provide an opportunity to mitigate the negative effects of ALAN. To test the potential effects of LED properties, we conducted a comprehensive field study over two summers at three forest sites in Switzerland. We investigated the impact of three key attributes of LED lights (color temperature, brightness, and luminaire shape) on the abundance and community structure of ground-dwelling invertebrate functional groups (predators, omnivores, and detritivores). We found a significantly increased nocturnal attraction of omnivores (+275%) and predators (+70%), but not detritivores, to ALAN, altering arthropod community composition and trophic interactions in forests. LED color temperature and luminaire shape showed minimal effects on all three functional groups, while reducing light level from 100% to 50% attracted fewer individuals in all groups with a significant effect in omnivores (−57%). In addition, we observed significant interactions of color temperatures and luminaire shapes with light intensity, with a decrease in numbers when dimming the light to 50% intensity combined with a color temperature of 3700 K for predators (−53%), with diffusing luminaire shapes for omnivores (−77%) and with standard luminaire shape for detritivores (−27%). The predator-detritivore ratio showed a significant color temperature – light level interaction, with increased numbers of predators around streetlights with 3700 K and 100% intensity, resulting in an elevated top-down pressure on detritivores. These results suggest the importance of considering combined light characteristics in future outdoor lighting designs.
  • Plant uptake and availability of antimony, lead, copper and zinc in oxic and reduced shooting range soil
    Item type: Journal Article
    Hockmann, Kerstin; Tandy, Susan; Studer, Björn; et al. (2018)
    Environmental Pollution
  • Trace element accumulation in woody plants of the Guadiamar Valley, SW Spain
    Item type: Journal Article
    Dominguez, María T.; Maranon, Teodoro; Murillo, José M.; et al. (2008)
    Environmental Pollution
Publications 1 - 10 of 127