Team > Dr. Sarmite Kernchen

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

Research assistant

Project: PAPILLONS – Plastic in Agricultural Production: Impacts, Life-cycles and LONg-term Sustainability

You can find more information on our Microplastic homepage or on the project homepage of PAPILLONS

It is becoming increasingly clear through current data that agricultural land is becoming hotspots of pollution by macro-, micro- and nanoplastics. Plastics enter the soil mainly through the use of biologically contaminated fertilisers (sewage sludge/compost), the application of plastic films (mulch films/silo films/greenhouses), irrigation with wastewater, runoff from roads and atmospheric deposition. However, what this means for soil functions and soil ecology has been insufficiently studied so far.

In the PAPILLONS research project, we are investigating the sources, behaviour and ecological impacts of micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soils resulting from agricultural practices and the use of plastics.

The extent of plastic pollution of agricultural land at European level, the potential long-term impacts on soil ecosystems and the usability of soil for agricultural production are unknown. PAPILLONS is actively working to close this knowledge gap through surveys, monitoring and scientific experiments.

At the University of Bayreuth, we will use microplastic analyses to clarify the extent of contamination in a European comparison, elucidate the main sources of microplastic pollution in agricultural soils and also investigate how this new pollutant affects soil organisms such as ants and beetles.

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

Research topics:

• Microplastic analysis by ATR-FTIR, µFTIR, Raman
  
• Sampling and sample preparation for microplastic analysis
  
• Method development for sample preparation
  
• Microplastic sources and transport
  
• Toxicological tests on terrestrial organisms
  

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

Publications

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

Dr. Sarmite Kernchen
Research assistant

Chair Animal Ecology I
Building B13, Room 0.04
University of Bayreuth
Universitätsstr. 30
95440 Bayreuth
Germany

Telefon: +49 (0) 921 55 2064
Fax: +49 (0) 921 55 2784

E-mail: sarmite.kernchen@uni-bayreuth.de