Do electromagnetic fields used in telecommunications affect wild plant species? A control impact study conducted in the field

2023 · Mixed · Low evidence

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MixedLow evidencePaper 340

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2023

Study typeother

Reported directionMixed

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Do electromagnetic fields used in telecommunications affect wild plant species? A control impact study conducted in the field Czerwiński M, Vian A, Woodcock BA, Goliński P, Recuero Virto L, Januszkiewicz T. Do electromagnetic fields used in telecommunications affect wild plant species? A control impact study conducted in the field. Ecological Indicators. Volume 150, 2023. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110267. Highlights Existing studies on RF-EMF effects focus on laboratory short-time exposed crop plants. We study 10 wild taxa under field conditions from seed germination to plant maturity. Inter-specific variation in RF-EMF effects on plant morphology was observed. The strongest RF-EMF effects occurred for Trifolium arvense. [Hare's foot clover] Future studies should focus on keystone Trifolium species in grassland ecosystems. Abstract Over the last three decades there has been an unprecedented increase in both the coverage of wireless communication networks and the resultant radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure level. There is growing concern that this rapid environmental change may have unexpected consequences for living organisms. Existing research on plants has shown that RF-EMF radiation can affect their growth and development, gene expression and various metabolic activities. However, these findings are largely derived from short-time exposure of crop plants under laboratory conditions. It remains unclear to what extent plants are affected by artificial RF-EMFs in real ecosystems and what potential consequences this could have for ecosystems. This study attempts to assess these long-term effects of RF-EMF exposure on wild plants under controlled experimental field conditions. We investigated the impacts of RF-EMF exposure (866–868 MHz frequency band) from seed germination to maturation for ten common herbaceous plant species over a four- month period. The selected plant species belong to various families and have different functional and morphological traits that might affect a response to the applied RF-EMF. For most of the considered species responses to RF-EMF were undetectable or weak, and where present restricted to a single trait. Only for one species, Trifolium arvense, were effects observed at different plant development stages and for different plant characteristics. In this species RF-EMF stimulated growth and probably influenced leaf heliotropic movements, as indicated by a larger height, larger leaf area and altered leaf orientation one month after germination. However, over the growing season Trifolium arvense plants exposed to RF-EMF entered the phase of senescence earlier, which was manifested through a reduction of green leaf area and an increase in the area of discolored leaf. We conclude that the effects of RF-EMF exposure at environmentally relevant levels can be permanent and irreversible in plants growing in the open natural environment, however, these effects are restricted to specific species. This in turn suggests that future studies should examine whether the effects observed here occur also in more common Trifolium species or other legumes that are a keystone component within European grasslands. Our findings also show that Trifolium arvense could be a candidate indicator of man-made RF-EMFs in the environment. Open access paper: sciencedirect.com

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother

Effect directionmixed

PopulationTen common herbaceous wild plant species (including Trifolium arvense) under controlled experimental field conditions

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureRF · 867 MHz · four-month period (from seed germination to maturation)

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Across ten wild herbaceous species exposed to RF-EMF (866–868 MHz) for four months in field conditions, responses were undetectable or weak for most species and, when present, limited to a single trait. Trifolium arvense showed effects across stages and traits: one month after germination RF-EMF was associated with larger height, larger leaf area, and altered leaf orientation, while later in the season exposed plants entered senescence earlier with reduced green leaf area and increased discolored leaf area.

Outcomes measured

Seed germination to maturation development outcomes
Plant morphology traits (e.g., height, leaf area, leaf orientation)
Leaf heliotropic movement indicators (leaf orientation)
Senescence timing and indicators (green leaf area, discolored leaf area)

Limitations

Sample size not reported in the abstract
Exposure intensity/level metrics (e.g., field strength, SAR) not reported in the abstract
Species-specific effects; generalizability beyond the tested taxa is unclear from the abstract
Mechanistic interpretation (e.g., heliotropic movement) described as probable/indicated rather than directly confirmed

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "telecommunications (experimental RF-EMF exposure)",
    "frequency_mhz": 867,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "four-month period (from seed germination to maturation)"
  },
  "population": "Ten common herbaceous wild plant species (including Trifolium arvense) under controlled experimental field conditions",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "Seed germination to maturation development outcomes",
    "Plant morphology traits (e.g., height, leaf area, leaf orientation)",
    "Leaf heliotropic movement indicators (leaf orientation)",
    "Senescence timing and indicators (green leaf area, discolored leaf area)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Across ten wild herbaceous species exposed to RF-EMF (866–868 MHz) for four months in field conditions, responses were undetectable or weak for most species and, when present, limited to a single trait. Trifolium arvense showed effects across stages and traits: one month after germination RF-EMF was associated with larger height, larger leaf area, and altered leaf orientation, while later in the season exposed plants entered senescence earlier with reduced green leaf area and increased discolored leaf area.",
  "effect_direction": "mixed",
  "limitations": [
    "Sample size not reported in the abstract",
    "Exposure intensity/level metrics (e.g., field strength, SAR) not reported in the abstract",
    "Species-specific effects; generalizability beyond the tested taxa is unclear from the abstract",
    "Mechanistic interpretation (e.g., heliotropic movement) described as probable/indicated rather than directly confirmed"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "RF-EMF",
    "telecommunications",
    "866–868 MHz",
    "field experiment",
    "wild plants",
    "plant morphology",
    "Trifolium arvense",
    "senescence",
    "leaf area",
    "leaf orientation"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "environmental-exposure",
      "weight": 0.78,
      "reason": "Field study of environmentally relevant RF-EMF exposure effects in wild plants."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.110267
PubMed: Not supplied

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