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Asked by anon-253421 to Daire on 6 May 2020.
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Daire Harvey-Carroll answered on 6 May 2020:
This is a great question and one I’ve been hunting for an answer for since lockdown started!
I think there will be an improvement in air-quality around cities and urban areas which can have a great impact on small plants like mosses (as well as human lungs). Its also great for pollinators like bees, wasps and hoverflys – and what’s good for the bugs is great for the plants!
An even larger beneficial effect is likely to come in wild areas like mountains and woods where less foot traffic will lead to less erosion and give rare species, like orchids, a chance to bulk up their numbers with our being picked or trampled!
We’ve no way to know for sure at the moment – in the months and years after lockdown we’ll all be studying hard to see what lessons we can learn about the environment.
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Comments
modmia commented on :
IMPORTANT: This question and its answers are about coronavirus (COVID-19). The information on this page might be out of date or wrong.
For up-to-date health information and advice, please go to the NHS website: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
Matthew (known as Kaan by commented on :
Hi Daire and Sam, my research is looking at the effect of pollution such as that contained in car exhaust upon chemical communication between parts of the environment such as between a bee and a plant.
From my research i can say that a drop in emissions will have a great effect on both bees and plants and many more insects as the “chemical signals” between plants and bees will be less disrupted meaning more pollination and thus healthier plants. A second thing i have found from my literature review is that pollution particles often coat leaf surfaces slowing down photosynthesis and gas exchange thus, less pollution, less leaf surface coverage and thus more photosynthesis.
Of course like Daire said, we don’t know any of this for sure as its very complex to work out the direct effect of a drop in pollution on every plant species and every interaction that plant has with other plants and insects in the environment but what we do know suggests that a drop in pollution is likely to be a good thing!