Open Access

Ein Landkreis macht’s vor: So geht guter Umgang mit Grundwasser +++ Wie Kommunen nachhaltige Ernährung mit planetarer Gesundheit verbinden und fördern können +++ Ökosysteme im Klimawandel: Die Bedeutung von sozial-ökologischen Kipppunkten für die Savannen Namibias +++ Kunst erfahren – Biodiversität wertschätzen? Tanzperformance zur Bedeutung von Insekten in der Stadt +++ Kunststoffe in Lebensmittelverpackungen reduzieren +++ Aktuelle Beiträge im ISOE Blog +++ Aus dem ISOE +++ Das ISOE in den Medien +++ Termine +++ Publikationen

Highlights • Germany plans more long-distances water transfers to secure drinking water supply. • Long-distance water transfers can unfold lock-ins that limit adaptive water governance. • Our interdisciplinary case study shows how lock-ins emerge over different spaces and times. • Commercialisation of water but also local protests contributed to various lock-ins. • We therefore call for context-specific assessments of potentials and risks of LDWT. Abstract Germany plans to expand water transfers over long distances in the light of numerous and pressing challenges for drinking water supply. Research on inter- and intrabasin water transfers warns, however, that major investments in large-scale infrastructure systems accompanied by institutional logics and political interests often lead to a so-called lock-in. As a consequence, long-distance water transfers can limit the potential for adaptive water governance in the involved supply areas over decades with negative impacts for people and the environment. By using a case study in Germany as an example, we researched when, where and how such lock-ins around long-distance water transfers emerge. In the infrastructural development of the Elbaue-Ostharz transfer system we found various lock-ins that overlap in space and time. Some are located at the centre others at the margins of the infrastructure and commercialization of the water sector as well as hydraulic and hygienic concerns interlock with local protests in a way that the expansion of the long-distance water transfer infrastructure is presented continuously as imperative. Our findings contribute to a relational understanding of lock-ins of long-distance water transfers as contingent and diverse processes. Given the widespread occurrence of lock-ins, we argue for a context-specific assessment of potentials and risks of long-distance water transfers in times of multiple crises.

Highlights • PUR, PVC and PLA microplastics affect life-history parameters of Daphnia magna. • Natural kaolin particles are less toxic than microplastics. • Microplastic toxicity is material-specific, e.g. PVC is most toxic on reproduction. • In case of PVC, plastic chemicals are the main driver of microplastic toxicity. • PLA bioplastics are similarly toxic as conventional plastics. Abstract Given the ubiquitous presence of microplastics in aquatic environments, an evaluation of their toxicity is essential. Microplastics are a heterogeneous set of materials that differ not only in particle properties, like size and shape, but also in chemical composition, including polymers, additives and side products. Thus far, it remains unknown whether the plastic chemicals or the particle itself are the driving factor for microplastic toxicity. To address this question, we exposed Daphnia magna for 21 days to irregular polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PUR) and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics as well as to natural kaolin particles in high concentrations (10, 50, 100, 500 mg/L, ≤ 59 μm) and different exposure scenarios, including microplastics and microplastics without extractable chemicals as well as the extracted and migrating chemicals alone. All three microplastic types negatively affected the life-history of D. magna. However, this toxicity depended on the endpoint and the material. While PVC had the largest effect on reproduction, PLA reduced survival most effectively. The latter indicates that bio-based and biodegradable plastics can be as toxic as their conventional counterparts. The natural particle kaolin was less toxic than microplastics when comparing numerical concentrations. Importantly, the contribution of plastic chemicals to the toxicity was also plastic type-specific. While we can attribute effects of PVC to the chemicals used in the material, effects of PUR and PLA plastics were induced by the mere particle. Our study demonstrates that plastic chemicals can drive microplastic toxicity. This highlights the importance of considering the individual chemical composition of plastics when assessing their environmental risks. Our results suggest that less studied polymer types, like PVC and PUR, as well as bioplastics are of particular toxicological relevance and should get a higher priority in ecotoxicological studies.

Bundesweite Befragung zur Klimaanpassung in Deutschland erfolgreich abgeschlossen +++ Wasserknappheit – eine unterschätzte Gefahr? +++ Lehrveranstaltungen des ISOE zur Sozialen Ökologie +++ Wie eine Trendwende beim Biodiversitätsschutz gelingen kann +++ Transferprogramm „GeisTreich“ für zukunftsfähigen Weinbau gestartet +++ Sonderausstellung „Stadtinsekten – Frankfurts kleine Helfer“ +++ Reallabore-Gesetz: Experimentierräume nachhaltig und partizipativ gestalten +++ Aktuelle Beiträge im ISOE-Blog +++ Aus dem ISOE +++ Das ISOE in den Medien +++ Termine +++ Publikationen

„Ein verregneter Sommer bringt uns das verlorene Grundwasser nicht zurück“ +++ Klimawandel und Gleichstellungspolitik – Session mit ISOE-Forscher bei der LABOR.A 2023 +++ Zukunft aus dem Reallabor? Was die Forschungsmethode für die Nachhaltigkeitsforschung bringt und wie das geplante „Reallabor-Gesetz“ zu bewerten ist +++ ISOE-Wissenschaftler*innen stellen sozial-ökologische Forschungsarbeiten beim „DKG’23“ vor +++ Wie steht es um die kommunale Klimaanpassung in Deutschland? +++ „Das Experiment hat uns überrascht“ – wie nachhaltiges Pendeln durch einen Reallabor-Versuch gelingen kann +++ Wie Chemikalieneinsatz und der Verlust der Artenvielfalt zusammenhängen +++ Das ISOE in den Medien +++ Aktuelle Beiträge im ISOE-Blog +++ Termine +++ Publikationen