Particles under stress: ultrasonication causes size and recovery rate artifacts with soil-derived POM but not with microplastics

Abstract. The breakdown of soil aggregates and the extraction of particulate organic matter (POM) by ultrasonication and density fractionation is a method widely used in soil organic matter (SOM) analyses. It has recently also been used for the extraction of microplastic from soil samples. However, the investigation of POM physiochemical properties and ecological functions might be biased if particles are comminuted during the treatment. In this work, different types of POM, which are representative of different terrestrial ecosystems and anthropogenic influences, were tested for their structural stability in the face of ultrasonication in the range of 0 to 500 J mL−1. The occluded particulate organic matter (oPOM) of an agricultural and forest soil as well as pyrochar showed a significant reduction of particle size at ≥50 J mL−1 by an average factor of 1.37±0.16 and a concurrent reduction of recovery rates by an average of 21.7±10.7 % when being extracted. Our results imply that increasing ultrasonication causes increasing retention of POM within the sedimenting phase, leading to a misinterpretation of certain POM fractions as more strongly bound oPOM or part of the mineral-associated organic matter (MOM). This could, for example, lead to a false estimation of physical stabilization. In contrast, neither fresh nor weathered polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) microplastics showed a reduction of particle size or the recovery rate after application of ultrasound. We conclude that ultrasonication applied to soils has no impact on microplastic size distribution and thus provides a valuable tool for the assessment of microplastics in soils and soil aggregates.