Accumulation of Plastics and Trace Elements in the Mangrove Forests of Bima City Bay, Indonesia

• Published in: Plants (Basel) Vol. 12; no. 3; p. 462
• Main Authors: Moniuszko, Hanna, Malonga, Win Ariga Mansur, Koczoń, Piotr, Thijs, Sofie, Popek, Robert, Przybysz, Arkadiusz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 19.01.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: absorption; Accumulation; adsorption; Analysis; Avicennia alba; Biomes; Coasts; Composition; Contamination; Discriminant analysis; Ecosystems; Environmental aspects; Forests; Fourier transforms; Horticultural research; Hotels & motels; India; Indonesia; Inductively coupled plasma; Infrared spectroscopy; Low concentrations; Mangrove plants; Mangrove swamps; microplastic; Microplastics; Micropollutants; nanoplastic; Optical emission spectroscopy; Physiological aspects; Plant tissues; Plastic debris; Plastic pollution; Plastics; Plastics industry; pneumatophores; Political activity; Political aspects; Pollutants; Polyamide resins; Polyamides; Polymers; Ports; River mouth; Rivers; Rural areas; Salinity; Sediment pollution; Sediments; Sediments (Geology); Soil contamination; Soils; Spectrometry; Trace elements; Vinylidene; Vinylidene chloride; Water analysis; Water pollution; Indonesia; India; adsorption; absorption; Avicennia alba; microplastic; nanoplastic; pneumatophores; polyamide; soil sediments; vinylidene chloride; selective accumulation
• ISSN: 2223-7747; 2223-7747
• DOI: 10.3390/plants12030462

Pollution with microplastics (MPs), nanoplastics (NPs) and trace elements (TEs) remains a considerable threat for mangrove biomes due to their capability to capture pollutants suspended in the water. This study investigated the abundance and composition of plastics and TEs contained in the soil and pneumatophores of sampled in experimental areas (hotel, market, river mouth, port, and rural areas) differentiated in anthropopressure, located in Bima Bay, Indonesia. Polymers were extracted and analyzed with the use of a modified sediment isolation method and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Trace elements were detected by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. The lowest and highest quantities of MPs in soil were recorded in rural and hotel areas, respectively. The rural site was characterized by distinct MP composition. The amounts of sediment-trapped MPs in the tested localities should be considered as high, and the recognized polymers partly corresponded with local human activity. Concentrations of seven plastic types found in plant tissues did not entirely reflect sediment pollution with nine types, suggesting a selective accumulation (particularly of polyamides and vinylidene chloride) and substance migration from other areas. Very low concentrations of non-biogenic TEs were observed, both in sediments and pneumatophores. The results highlight the relevance of environmental contamination with plastics.