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Microplastics and cadmium affect invasion success by altering complementarity and selection effects in native community
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Researchers tested how microplastics and cadmium individually and together affect invasive plant success in native plant communities of varying diversity. Microplastics alone reduced invasion success by up to 63% in high-diversity communities, while cadmium increased invasive plant biomass by 40%, but microplastics suppressed this cadmium-driven boost.
The diversity-invasibility hypothesis predicts that native plant communities with high biodiversity should be more resistant to invasion than low biodiversity communities. However, observational studies have found that there is often a positive relationship between native community diversity and invasibility. Pollutants were not tested for their potential to cause this positive relationship. Here, we established native communities with three levels of diversity (1, 2 and 4 species) and introduced an invasive plant [Symphyotrichum subulatum (Michx.) G. L. Nesom] to test the effects of different pollutant treatments (i.e., unpolluted control, microplastics (MPs) alone, cadmium (Cd) alone, and their combination) on the relationship between native community diversity and community invasibility. Our results indicate that different MPs and Cd treatments altered the invasibility of native communities, but this effect may depend on the type of pollutant. MPs single treatment reduced invasion success, and the degree of reduction increased with increasing native community diversity (Diversity 2: - 14.1 %; Diversity 4: - 63.1 %). Cd single treatment increased the aboveground biomass of invasive plants (+ 40.2 %) and invasion success. The presence of MPs inhibited the contribution of Cd to invasion success. Furthermore, we found that the complementarity and selection effects of the native community were negatively correlated with invasion success, and their relative contributions to invasion success also depended on the pollutant type. We found new evidence of how pollutants affect the relationship between native community diversity and habitat invasibility, which provides new perspectives for understanding and managing biological invasions in the context of environmental pollution. This may contribute to promoting the conservation of biodiversity, especially in ecologically sensitive and polluted areas.
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Comparative Responses of Invasive and Native Plant Species to Combined Cd and Microplastic Pollution
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When soils contain both heavy metal pollution (cadmium) and microplastics from "biodegradable" plastics, plants struggle more than with either pollutant alone, but an invasive weed handled the combined stress better than a native plant did, thanks to stronger natural defenses against cell damage. This matters because as these pollutants build up together in farm soils, they could not only shift which plants thrive (potentially favoring invasive species) but also affect how well food crops grow and absorb contaminants, which has downstream implications for the food we eat.
High invader density alone drives invasive plant dominance, but its impacts on native community biomass and diversity depend on nutrients and microplastics
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A mesocosm experiment using invasive aquatic plants found that high invader density is the main driver of invasive species dominance in freshwater systems, but the impact on native plant diversity and productivity depends on whether the water is also enriched with nutrients or contaminated with microplastics. This study highlights that microplastic pollution can interact with other stressors like nutrient runoff to shape how biological invasions unfold in freshwater ecosystems, with cascading consequences for native plant communities.
The more microplastic types pollute the soil, the stronger the growth suppression of invasive alien and native plants
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Researchers grew 16 plant species in soil contaminated with varying numbers of microplastic types and found that plant growth declined more as the diversity of microplastics increased. Invasive species were particularly affected, losing their typical growth advantage over native plants when exposed to multiple microplastic types. The study suggests that real-world soil contamination, which typically involves a mix of different plastics, may suppress plant growth more than single-plastic experiments have shown.
Effect of microplastics on the allelopathic effects of native and invasive plants on co-occurring invaders
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Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics in soil enhanced the growth of both native and invasive plant species under competitive and non-competitive conditions. The microplastics also induced negative allelopathic effects from the native plant Achyranthes on neighboring plants, mediated through changes in leaf chemistry. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could alter competitive dynamics between native and invasive species by modifying plant chemical interactions.
Plant community responses to polypropylene microplastic and cadmium co-exposure: Implications for mycorrhizal strategies in a coastal wetland
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Researchers conducted a mesocosm experiment to assess how polypropylene microplastics and cadmium interact in their effects on coastal wetland plant communities. They found that the combination of microplastics and heavy metals altered soil properties, plant community composition, and root traits in species-specific ways. The study suggests that mycorrhizal strategies play a role in how different plant species respond to this combined contamination.
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