Effects of microplastics on interactions between soil biota, soil structure and crop performance in sewage sludge amended soils. 


Funding Body: EPSRC/Scottish Water

Student: Anna Charatzidou

Microplastics have been identified as an important and constantly increasing pollutant, with the research focus recently changing from aquatic to soil ecosystems as the main environmental contamination sink. Agroecosystems in particular were recently identified as the most heavily contaminated terrestrial ecosystem. There are many microplastic contamination pathways for arable land. Biosolids, after consistent applications as fertilisers, are considered as one of the main plastic pollution contributors. This study will aim to address some vital questions about the use of biosolids and how their consistent microplastic additions could affect crop growth and crop-soil interactions in the UK. The first step will be to establish an optimised protocol for microplastic separation and characterisation from organic rich soil samples, such as biosolids, by comparing and combining already published methodologies. The research will then focus on creating a series of microcosm experiments, with wheat, being the crop model organism. While monitoring wheat growth, crop interactions with soil microbiota and soil properties will also be taken into account for a more detailed understanding of how microplastics in biosolids could cause alterations on agroecosystems.