Microplastic Incorporation into Soil in Agroecosystems

Background: We live in a plastic age (Thompson et al., 2009), with
\nmicroplastic (typically defined as plastic particles < 5 mm) becoming an
\nincreasingly appreciated aspect of environmental pollution. Research has been
\noverwhelmingly focused on aquatic systems, especially the oceans, but there is
\na current shift to more strongly consider terrestrial ecosystems (Rillig,
\n2012; Horton et al., 2017). In particular agroecosystems are coming into focus
\nas a major entry point for microplastics in continental systems (Nizzetto et
\nal., 2016b), where contamination might occur via different sources as sludge
\namendment or plastic mulching (Steinmetz et al., 2016). Given…

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  Freie Universität Berlin