Abstract
Microplastic contamination of aquatic ecosystems is a high priority research topic, whereas the issue on terrestrial ecosystems has been widely neglected. At the same time, terrestrial ecosystems under human influence, such as agroecosystems, are likely to be contaminated by plastic debris. However, the extent of this contamination has not been determined at present. Via Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, we quantified for the first time the macro- and microplastic contamination on an agricultural farmland in southeast Germany. We found 206 macroplastic pieces per hectare and 0.34 ± 0.36 microplastic particles per kilogram dry weight of soil. In general, polyethylene was the most common polymer type, followed by polystyrene and polypropylene. Films and fragments were the dominating categories found for microplastics, whereas predominantly films were found for macroplastics. Since we intentionally chose a study site where microplastic-containing fertilizers and agricultural plastic applications were never used, our findings report on plastic contamination on a site which only receives conventional agricultural treatment. However, the contamination is probably higher in areas where agricultural plastic applications, like greenhouses, mulch, or silage films, or plastic-containing fertilizers (sewage sludge, biowaste composts) are applied. Hence, further research on the extent of this contamination is needed with special regard to different cultivation practices.
Highlights
Plastic debris is ubiquitous in all ecosystems on earth[1] and yet, only a fraction of this environmental issue is visible
It has recently been suggested that fertilizers originating from sewage sludge[18] and bio-waste[19] processed from households or commercial bindings, may act as a further major input route of microplastics to soils and especially agricultural soils are prone to microplastic contamination
Macroplastic debris was collected from the soil surface, whereas for microplastics (1 to 5 mm), 14 samples were taken from the top 5 cm of soil within 32 × 32 cm quadrates, resulting in a sample volume of approximately 5 litres per sample
Summary
Plastic debris is ubiquitous in all ecosystems on earth[1] and yet, only a fraction of this environmental issue is visible. Research on microplastics started in the marine environment over a decade ago[5], whereas the question of the origin of plastic debris addressed continental sources, especially rivers, as the main input route[6,7] This led the scientific community to recently carrying out progressive work on freshwater ecosystems[8]. While it is widely discussed for microplastics[17], field studies quantifying it are lacking[13] To those sources, it has recently been suggested that fertilizers originating from sewage sludge[18] and bio-waste[19] processed from households or commercial bindings, may act as a further major input route of microplastics to soils and especially agricultural soils are prone to microplastic contamination. Our study is the first report on macro- and microplastic contamination of an agricultural farmland in rural areas which only receives conventional agricultural treatment
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