Seagrass beds acting as a trap of microplastics - Emerging hotspot in the coastal region?

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 257; p. 113450
• Main Authors: Huang, Yuzhou, Xiao, Xi, Xu, Caicai, Perianen, Yuvna Devi, Hu, Jing, Holmer, Marianne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2020
• Subjects: China; Ecosystem; Enrichment; Environmental Monitoring; Geologic Sediments; Hydrocharitaceae; Microplastics; Microplastics - analysis; Plastics; Seagrass; Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase; Trap effect; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; China; Enrichment; Microplastics; Seagrass; Trap effect
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113450

Microplastics is an emerging environmental problem in the world. However, presence and fate of microplastics in seagrass meadows are barely known. In this study, the abundance and diversity of microplastic from Enhalus acodoides vegetated sites and bare sites were quantified and characterized in Xincun bay and Li’an bay, Hainan, China. Microplastics ranged from 80.0 to 884.5 particles per kg of dry sediment, and fibers were the dominant shape. The most frequent colors of microplastics were blue, transparent and black. The dominant size of microplastics was in the range of 125–250 μm. And the seagrass sediments were enriched in microplastics 2.1 and 2.9 times for Xincun bay and Li’an bay, respectively. The trap effect of seagrass was non-selective regarding the shape, color and size of microplastics. High anthropogenic pollution and poor beach management may contribute to higher concentrations of microplastics in Li’an bay. [Display omitted] •Microplastics were trapped in sediment by seagrass with enrichment factor 2.1 and 2.9 in Xincun and Li’an bay respectively.•Microplastics abundance ranged from 80.0 to 884.5 particles per kg of dry sediment in Xincun and Li’an bay.•Fiber among shapes, blue among color and small microplastics size ranged (125–250 μm) were the most abundant types.•High anthropogenic pollution and poor beach management may contribute to higher concentrations of microplastics.