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Mitigating airborne microplastics pollution from perspectives of precipitation and underlying surface types
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Researchers collected airborne microplastics under and away from a Ficus tree in Chengdu, China, finding that tree canopy cover and meteorological conditions such as precipitation significantly reduce airborne microplastic concentrations, suggesting vegetation as a natural mitigation measure.
The issue of airborne microplastics (AMPs) pollution is receiving increasing attention, but effective solutions are still limited. In this study, AMPs were collected in pairs from an open space and under a tree (Ficus virens) in the suburb of Chengdu, southwest China, to investigate the current pollution status. The meteorological factors and underlying surface types were analyzed to investigate whether these factors could influence and mitigate the pollution of AMPs. The results showed that the fibrous AMPs accounted for the vast majority and the dominant polymers were polypropylene-polyethylene (PP-PE) and polypropylene (PP), with an average deposition flux of AMPs of 192 n/m/d (22.41 µg/m/d). Rainfall was found to have the prolonged scavenging efficiency for AMPs, which could extend to 8 to 48 hours after the end of rainfall, and this is a new insight into the relationship with meteorological factors. Interactions between the key underlying surface types and AMPs were also studied. The representative tree species (Ficus virens) had a low interception rate of 6.25% for AMPs and retained mainly small-sized AMPs and more fibers. The masses of AMPs loaded into Chengdu rivers could reach 1149 kg annually, with the unit mass load of 13.6 kg/km in urban rivers and 8.2 kg/km in suburban rivers. The masses intercepted by trees and bushes throughout the city only offset the masses loading in rivers, and open or sparse buildings were found to be sensitive areas for AMPs, which indicated the urgent need to control and mitigate the pollution of AMPs, especially in these sensitive areas. This work comprehensively analyzed the AMPs pollution from various perspectives and attempted to find ways to mitigate this pollution.
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Researchers collected paired atmospheric samples above and below tree canopies of Ficus microcarpa in Chengdu, China, to determine whether urban trees can intercept airborne microplastics. They found that microplastic concentrations were significantly lower beneath the tree canopy compared to above it, suggesting that urban forests act as natural filters for atmospheric microplastics. The study highlights the underappreciated role that urban greenery may play in mitigating airborne microplastic pollution.
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