Some carnivorous plants typical of Northern Europe would be changing their eating habits, giving up on capturing insects and turning from carnivorous to “vegetarian” due to man-made pollution. The greater presence of nitrogen in the soil would make it much less necessary for them to have to capture insects to ensure an adequate supply of this element, according to what emerges from recent studies carried out on the subject.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
Some carnivorous plants typical of Northern Europe would be changing their eating habits, giving up on capturing insects and transforming themselves from carnivorous to "vegetarian" because ofpollution man-made. The increased presence of nitrogen in the ground would make it much less necessary for them to have to capture insects to ensure an adequate supply of this element, according to what emerges from recent studies carried out on the subject.
Carnivorous plants of the species Sundew rotundifolia until now they were guided by the need to capture insects to ensure the quantity of nitrogen necessary for their nourishment, as it was scarcely present in the soil. It has now been found that the percentage of nitrogen in soils has increased due to human productive activities, in particular related to the use of fossil sources in the field of transport and industry. The nitrogen would be deposited in the soils through the rains and in this way they would be enriched by it.
According to a study published in the pages of the journal New Phytologist, because of this the carnivorous plants of the species in question would be losing their interest in the insects, since they would now be able to recover from the soil, through the roots, the quantity of nitrogen necessary for their survival. According to the most recent research, in less polluted areas carnivorous plants would resort to the capture of insects for a percentage of 57%. This percentage would drop to only 22% in the case of plants located in particularly polluted soils characterized by nitrogen deposits.
Doctor Jonathan Millett, pertaining to the Loughborough University and lead author of the study in question, underlines that: "If there is an abundant quantity of nitrogen absorbable through the roots in the soil, plants tend to make less use of their ability to feed on insects". How was it possible for plants to adapt to such change of diet? Millett explains that they turned out to be able to make their own less sticky leaves, in order to be able to capture a lower number of insects.
There have been changes also in their color, which is brighter in the case of plants present in less polluted areas and which therefore still need to capture large numbers of insects. The color of the plants, consequently, is less lively in those specimens that can draw more nitrogen from the soil. Studies by Millett's team of experts focused primarily on Sweden, an area particularly affected by the presence of carnivorous plants and a high concentration of nitrogen in the soil.
Marta Albè
