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Coexistence of Microplastics and Foramsulfuron in Agricultural Soils Treated with a Digestate: Effects on Herbicide Persistence and Soil Functionality
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Farmers sometimes use "digestate" (a byproduct of composting food and farm waste) as a natural fertilizer, but this study found it can also introduce tiny plastic particles (microplastics) into soil. These microplastics can bind to weed-killing chemicals already in the soil, potentially changing how long the chemicals stick around and affecting overall soil health. Since our food grows in this soil, understanding how microplastics interact with farm chemicals matters for figuring out what might end up in our crops—and eventually our bodies.
Microplastics (MPs) in agricultural soils pose a major environmental issue since they persist and alter the soil chemical and physical properties, affecting its overall health. Applying digestate to soil may introduce MPs, which can adsorb agrochemicals, and alter their behaviour. This study e...
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Coexistence of microplastics and Foramsulfuron in soil: effects on herbicide persistence and soil functionality
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Researchers examined how microplastics affect the persistence and behavior of the herbicide Foramsulfuron in agricultural soils. They found that microplastics prolonged the herbicide's half-life by 17-21%, meaning the chemical persisted longer in the soil, while digestate amendment helped accelerate its breakdown. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils could alter how pesticides behave, potentially extending their environmental impact.
Dynamics of microplastics in soils amended with digestate: interactions with pesticides and antibiotics - Project 3Impact
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Scientists studied what happens when tiny plastic particles (microplastics) get into farm soil through organic fertilizer made from food waste. They found that these microplastics make pesticides and antibiotics stick around longer in the soil and harm the helpful bacteria that keep soil healthy. This matters because these chemicals could eventually end up in our food and water, and the damaged soil bacteria are important for growing healthy crops.
Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: Sources, Fate, and Interactions with Other Contaminants
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This review examines how microplastics enter farmland through irrigation, fertilizers, and plastic mulch, and how long-term farming practices affect their spread and aging in soil. The paper highlights that microplastics can either increase or decrease the toxicity of co-existing pollutants like pesticides and heavy metals depending on how strongly each contaminant binds to soil versus plastic particles.
Biosolid amendments as drivers for microplastic pollution in soil: Measurements and insight from multiple analytical methods in an agricultural field study
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Farms often spread "biosolids" (treated sewage sludge and animal waste) on fields as fertilizer, but this study shows that practice can also introduce microplastic pollution into agricultural soil, with fields that received sludge showing different plastic contamination than untreated fields. Since crops grow in this soil and microplastics can potentially work their way into our food and water, this raises questions about how common farming practices might be a hidden source of plastic exposure in our diets.
Biosolid amendments as drivers for microplastic pollution in soil: Measurements and insight from multiple analytical methods in an agricultural field study
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Scientists analyzed farm soil that had been treated with sewage sludge (a common fertilizer made from treated wastewater) years earlier, comparing it to untreated soil to identify tiny plastic particles left behind. This research provides detailed tools and data for detecting these microplastics, helping build the scientific groundwork needed to understand how farm fertilizing practices may contribute to plastic pollution in the food we grow.
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