Warning: imagejpeg(C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\phplern\28465618
.jpg): Failed to open stream: No such file or directory in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 117 Sci+Rep
2017 ; 7
(1
): 1362
Nephropedia Template TP
gab.com Text
Twit Text FOAVip
Twit Text #
English Wikipedia
Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms
#MMPMID28465618
Rillig MC
; Ziersch L
; Hempel S
Sci Rep
2017[May]; 7
(1
): 1362
PMID28465618
show ga
Despite great general benefits derived from plastic use, accumulation of plastic
material in ecosystems, and especially microplastic, is becoming an increasing
environmental concern. Microplastic has been extensively studied in aquatic
environments, with very few studies focusing on soils. We here tested the idea
that microplastic particles (polyethylene beads) could be transported from the
soil surface down the soil profile via earthworms. We used Lumbricus terrestris
L., an anecic earthworm species, in a factorial greenhouse experiment with four
different microplastic sizes. Presence of earthworms greatly increased the
presence of microplastic particles at depth (we examined 3 soil layers, each
3.5?cm deep), with smaller PE microbeads having been transported downward to a
greater extent. Our study clearly shows that earthworms can be significant
transport agents of microplastics in soils, incorporating this material into
soil, likely via casts, burrows (affecting soil hydraulics), egestion and
adherence to the earthworm exterior. This movement has potential consequences for
exposure of other soil biota to microplastics, for the residence times of
microplastic at greater depth, and for the possible eventual arrival of
microplastics in the groundwater.
free
free
free
