Team > Dr. Julia Möller

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
Chair Animal Ecology I

PhD project: Microplastics in compost and soils - Method development for the analysis of microplastics in terrestrial systems

By definition, microplastic particles are plastic particles smaller than 5 mm. They can enter the environment via a wide variety of pathways and may have a negative impact on the respective ecosystems.

Initially, microplastics were studied exclusively in the oceans, and recently this field has expanded to include inland waters. However, it is suspected that the microplastic load in soils is similarly high as in the aquatic environment - and yet little is known about the issue of microplastics in terrestrial systems. This is partly due to the fact that the matrix "soil" is much more complex than water and until now no adequate method exists to analyse microplastics in soil samples qualitatively and quantitatively. The aim of this project is to develop a methodology that allows the collection of as much information as possible about microplastic particles in environmental samples: For this purpose, the plastic particles, which are often only a few micrometres in size, must be isolated from the soil matrix, counted, measured and analysed spectroscopically. In addition, the aim is to find out what effects the plastic particles have on soil organisms such as earthworms, and whether various factors such as the type of plastic and its size and shape have an influence.

With the data obtained, it should be possible to better assess the ecological impact of microplastics in the future.

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
Chair Animal Ecology I

Publications

2024

Thomas Steiner, Lisa-Cathrin Leitner, Yuanhu Zhang, Julia N. Möller, Martin G. J. Löder, Andreas Greiner, Christian Laforsch, Ruth Freitag: Detection and specific chemical identification of submillimeter plastic fragments in complex matrices such as compost. In: Scientific Reports, 14 (2024). - .
doi:10.1038/s41598-024-51185-6

2023

Thomas Steiner, Julia N. Möller, Martin G. J. Löder, Frank Hilbrig, Christian Laforsch, Ruth Freitag: Microplastic Contamination of Composts and Liquid Fertilizers from Municipal Biowaste Treatment Plants : Effects of the Operating Conditions. In: Waste and Biomass Valorization, 14 (2023). - S. 873-887.
doi:10.1007/s12649-022-01870-2

Aileen Jakobs, Elif Gürkal, Julia N. Möller, Martin G. J. Löder, Christian Laforsch, Tillmann Lüders: A novel approach to extract, purify, and fractionate microplastics from environmental matrices by isopycnic ultracentrifugation. In: Science of the Total Environment, 857, Part 3 (2023). - .
doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159610

Julia N. Möller:Microplastic pollution in composts, digestates and soils : Developing detection methods to identify input pathways, local extent and fate of terrestrial microplastic pollution. - Bayreuth: 2023. - 240 S.
(Dissertation, 2023, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuther Graduiertenschule für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften - BayNAT)
doi:10.15495/EPub_UBT_00007201

2022

Lion Schöpfer, Julia N. Möller, Thomas Steiner, Uwe Schnepf, Sven Marhan, Julia Resch, Ansilla Bayha, Martin G. J. Löder, Ruth Freitag, Franz Brümmer, Christian Laforsch, Thilo Streck, Jens Forberger, Martin Kranert, Ellen Kandeler, Holger Pagel: Microplastics persist in an arable soil but do not affect soil microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and crop yield. In: Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 185 (2022). - S. 836-849.
doi:10.1002/jpln.202200062

Benedikt Hufnagl, Michael Stibi, Heghnar Martirosyan, Ursula Wilczek, Julia N. Möller, Martin G. J. Löder, Christian Laforsch, Hans Lohninger: Computer-Assisted Analysis of Microplastics in Environmental Samples Based on μFTIR Imaging in Combination with Machine Learning. In: Environmental Science & Technology Letters, 9 (2022). - S. 90-95.
doi:10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00851

Markus Rolf, Hannes Laermanns, Lukas Kienzler, Christian Pohl, Julia N. Möller, Christian Laforsch, Martin G. J. Löder, Christina Bogner: Flooding frequency and floodplain topography determine abundance of microplastics in an alluvial Rhine soil. In: Science of the Total Environment, 836 (2022). - .
doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155141

Isabella Schrank, Julia N. Möller, Hannes Imhof, Oliver Hauenstein, Franziska Zielke, Seema Agarwal, Martin G. J. Löder, Andreas Greiner, Christian Laforsch: Microplastic sample purification methods : Assessing detrimental effects of purification procedures on specific plastic types. In: Science of the Total Environment, 833 (2022). - .
doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154824

Lion Schöpfer, Julia N. Möller, Thomas Steiner, Uwe Schnepf, Sven Marhan, Julia Resch, Ansilla Bayha, Martin G. J. Löder, Ruth Freitag, Franz Brümmer, Christian Laforsch, Thilo Streck, Jens Forberger, Martin Kranert, Ellen Kandeler, Holger Pagel: Microplastics persist in an arable soil but do not affect soil microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and crop yield. In: Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 185 (2022). - S. 836-849.
doi:10.1002/jpln.202200062

Thomas Steiner, Yuanhu Zhang, Julia N. Möller, Seema Agarwal, Martin G. J. Löder, Andreas Greiner, Christian Laforsch, Ruth Freitag: Municipal biowaste treatment plants contribute to the contamination of the environment with residues of biodegradable plastics with putative higher persistence potential. In: Scientific Reports, 12 (2022). - .
doi:10.1038/s41598-022-12912-z

Julia N. Möller, Ingrid Heisel, Anna Satzger, Eva Cseperke Vizsolyi, Simon David Jakob Oster, Seema Agarwal, Christian Laforsch, Martin G. J. Löder: Tackling the Challenge of Extracting Microplastics from Soils : A Protocol to Purify Soil Samples for Spectroscopic Analysis. In: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 41 (2022). - S. 844-857.
doi:10.1002/etc.5024

2020

Julia N. Möller, Martin G. J. Löder, Christian Laforsch: Finding Microplastics in Soils : A Review of Analytical Methods. In: Environmental Science & Technology, 54 (2020). - S. 2078-2090.
doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b04618

2018

Nicolas Weithmann, Julia N. Möller, Martin G. J. Löder, Sarah Piehl, Christian Laforsch, Ruth Freitag: Organic fertilizer as a vehicle for the entry of microplastic into the environment. In: Science Advances, 4 (2018). - .
doi:10.1126/sciadv.aap8060

Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences
Chair Animal Ecology I

Dr. Julia Möller

E-mail: julia.moeller@uni-bayreuth.de