this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
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2024-11-11

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Summary

New research reveals microplastics can reduce plants' photosynthetic ability by 7-12% on average, with variations across terrestrial crops (6-18%), marine plants (2-12%), and freshwater algae (4-14%).

This pollution could cause 4-13.5% yield loss in staple crops over 25 years and decrease seafood production by up to 7% as aquatic ecosystems suffer.

Beyond threatening food security, reduced photosynthesis hampers carbon sequestration efforts critical for climate change.

Researchers estimate that reducing environmental microplastics by just 13% could mitigate photosynthesis loss by 30%.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What's the mechanism for photosynthesis reduction? It's not explained in the PNAS article nor the abstract of the original paper, which is a meta-analysis.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Do you mean the Calvin Cycle?

Edit: oof alpha channel moment

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

MP exposure reduces the chlorophyll content of photoautotrophs by 10.96 to 12.84%.

From the abstract of the paper OP linked

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah but that means what exactly? Plastic deposits on the surface of the plant? Water contamination? Something else?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Probably further research needed?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That's beside my point. They talk about the difference between photosynthesis efficacy with and without MPs, but don't explain how the MPs affect the process.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

You don't have to explain the process to observe the difference. But it could be useful to understand the process to help figure out ways to mitigate it. I think we'll have to wait for future research to find that out though.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

So that's what all this stuff is!

Also, could someone share a pdf?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

I appreciate it!
But perhaps I should have been clearer.
I didn't mean Joanna Thompson's at Scientific American.
I was looking for Baoshan Xing's at PNAS.

This one:
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2423957122

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

No such thing with 3-rd party js disabled.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Ohh yeahh, forgot about that trick. TY!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Brawndo’s got what plants crave….

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

how do you reduce microplastics once they have seeped into the earth though?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Wooooooooooo all gas no brakes wcgw

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Btw, those plastic foils are just plowed under, it's nuts. Make them bio-degradable already. The vegs shouldn't be allowed to be labeled "bio" if they use plastics for growing.