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Investigating the dispersal of macro- and microplastics on agricultural fields 30 years after sewage sludge application

Weber, Collin J. ; Santowski, Alexander ; Chifflard, Peter (2022)
Investigating the dispersal of macro- and microplastics on agricultural fields 30 years after sewage sludge application.
In: Scientific Reports, 2022, 12
doi: 10.26083/tuprints-00022527
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Item Type: Article
Type of entry: Secondary publication
Title: Investigating the dispersal of macro- and microplastics on agricultural fields 30 years after sewage sludge application
Language: English
Date: 2022
Place of Publication: Darmstadt
Year of primary publication: 2022
Publisher: Springer Nature
Journal or Publication Title: Scientific Reports
Volume of the journal: 12
Collation: 13 Seiten
DOI: 10.26083/tuprints-00022527
Corresponding Links:
Origin: Secondary publication service
Abstract:

Plastic contamination of terrestrial ecosystems and arable soils pose potentially negative impacts on several soil functions. Whereas substantial plastic contamination is now traceable in agro-landscapes, often internal-caused by the application of fertilizers such as sewage sludge, questions remain unanswered concerning what happens to the plastic after incorporation. Based on a combined surface and depth sampling approach, including density separation, fuorescence staining and ATR-FTIR or µFTIR analyses, we quantifed macro- and microplastic abundance on two agricultural felds—34 years after the last sewage sludge application. By sub-dividing the study area around sludge application sites, we were able to determine spatial distribution and spreading of plastics. Past sewage sludge application led to a still high density of macroplastics (637.12 items per hectare) on agricultural soil surfaces. Microplastic concentration, measured down to 90 cm depth, ranged from 0.00 to 56.18 particles per kg of dry soil weight. Maximum microplastic concentrations were found in regularly ploughed topsoils. After 34 years without sewage sludge application, macro- and microplastic loads were signifcantly higher on former application areas, compared to surrounding areas without history of direct sewage application. We found that anthropogenic ploughing was mainly responsible for plastic spread, as opposed to natural transport processes like erosion. Furthermore, small-scale lateral to vertical heterogeneous distribution of macro- and microplastics highlights the need to determine appropriate sampling strategies and the modelling of macro- and microplastic transport in soils.

Status: Publisher's Version
URN: urn:nbn:de:tuda-tuprints-225272
Classification DDC: 500 Science and mathematics > 550 Earth sciences and geology
Divisions: 11 Department of Materials and Earth Sciences > Earth Science > Department of Soil Mineralogy and Soil Chemistry
Date Deposited: 10 Nov 2022 13:06
Last Modified: 27 Apr 2023 07:27
URI: https://tuprints.ulb.tu-darmstadt.de/id/eprint/22527
PPN: 507284313
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