Third, to reduce the risk (introduction and accumulation) of MPs in soil ecosystems, we will actively search for biodegrading organisms making use of a novel sequencing approach. MP induced changes in plant growth, plant disease susceptibility, soil texture, soil chemical composition and the microbial community will be studied. Second, these correlations between MPs and the soil health indicators will be validated and tested in greenhouse experiments, to understand the biological underpinnings that drive these correlations. To measure the MP concentration, a fast, cost-effective and standardized method to detect, identify and quantify MPs (≥ 1 µm) in soils will be developed. First, the risk of MP pollution in soil will be assessed by correlating MP concentrations of 240 soils with soil health indicators. We will advance the field by working in a three step approach to mechanistically define how MP pollution outbalances the soil (and plant) ecosystem. Therefore fundamental insights in the role of MPs on soil and plant health are missing. This research gap has led to fragmentary knowledge and even contradictory results in MP studies on soil ecosystems, as different concentrations, sizes, shapes and MP polymer types were considered. The lack of appropriate techniques and methodologies for sampling, extraction and detection hamper the research concerning MP distribution in soil ecosystems. While the effect of plastic in marine and freshwater ecosystems has been studied extensively, effects of plastic on soil ecosystem functions such as plant growth, microbial biomass and water permeability have been mostly overlooked, particularly for the smallest particles, the microplastics (MPs ≤ 5 mm). Layers that have not undergone such processes may be simply called "layers".Plastics are found in nearly every environment and disrupt key ecosystem services. Some soils do not have a clear development of horizons.Ī soil horizon is a result of soil-forming processes ( pedogenesis). In addition to these diagnostic horizons, some other soil characteristics may be needed to define a soil type. the "cambic horizon" or the "spodic horizon". Diagnostic horizons are usually indicated with names, e.g. Other systems pick out certain horizons, the "diagnostic horizons", for the definition examples are the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB), the USDA soil taxonomy and the Australian Soil Classification. The German system uses entire horizon sequences for definition. In most soil classification systems, horizons are used to define soil types. Due to the different definitions of the horizon symbols, the systems cannot be mixed. No one system is more correct-as artificial constructs, their utility lies in their ability to accurately describe local conditions in a consistent manner. There are many different systems of horizon symbols in the world. Suffixes, in form of lowercase letters and figures, further differentiate the master horizons. Master horizons (main horizons) are indicated by capital letters. The identified horizons are indicated with symbols, which are mostly used in a hierarchical way. Soil layer whose physical characteristics differ from the layers above and beneathĪ cross section of a soil, revealing horizons
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