Recently, our latest research paper "The Promoting Effects of Soil Microplastics on Alien Plant Invasion Dependent on Microplastic Shape and Concentration" was published online in Science of the Total Environment (IF: 9.8). Jiangsu University is the first completion unit, with Associate Professor Li Guanlin as the first author and Professor Du Daolin as the corresponding author.

The invasion of alien plants has become a significant threat to biodiversity, food security, economy, and overall human well-being. Similarly, microplastics, as an emerging global change factor, may promote the invasion of alien species. Although studies have shown that invasive plants are better adapted to environmental stress than native species, there is still insufficient research on the growth environment, antioxidant enzyme activity, and biomass of native and invasive plants affected by microplastics. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of microplastics with different shapes (granular and fragmented) and concentrations (0, 0.5%, and 2.0% (w/w)) on the growth of local and Canadian goldenrod, and analyzed their effects on the growth environment, antioxidant enzyme activity, and biomass of local and Canadian goldenrod peanuts. The research results are of great significance for a deeper understanding of the differences in microplastic pollution between native and invasive plants, as well as its long-term impact on sustainable ecological development and human well-being.

This research achievement has been supported by the Jiangsu Provincial Key R&D Program "Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality Technology Innovation Special Project" (BK20220030), the National Natural Science Foundation of China projects (32271587; 32350410400), and the Jiangsu Provincial Graduate Practice Innovation Project (SJCX22_1862). Article link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172089 .