Impact of Microplastics on Forest Soil Properties in Pollution Hotspots in Alluvial Plains of Large Rivers (Morava, Sava, and Danube) of Serbia

Abstract

first_pagesettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Impact of Microplastics on Forest Soil Properties in Pollution Hotspots in Alluvial Plains of Large Rivers (Morava, Sava, and Danube) of Serbia by Tara Grujić 1ORCID,Elmira Saljnikov 2ORCID,Dragosav Mutavdžić 2,Marina Jovković 1,Slobodan Stefanović 3ORCID,Vladimir Miladinović 4ORCID,Slobodan Krnjajić 2ORCID,Snežana Belanović Simić 5ORCID andŽaklina Marjanović 2,*ORCID 1 Institute of Soil Science, Teodora Drajzera 7, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia 2 Institute of Multidisciplinary Research, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia 3 Faculty for Applied Ecology “Futura”, Metropolitan University, Požeška 53a, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia 4 Institute for Vegetable Crops Smederevska Palanka, Karađorđeva 71, 11420 Smederevska Palanka, Serbia 5 Faculty of Forestry, University of Belgrade, Kneza Višeslava 1, 11030 Belgrade, Serbia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Forests 2025, 16(2), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/f16020363 Submission received: 3 January 2025 / Revised: 30 January 2025 / Accepted: 6 February 2025 / Published: 17 February 2025 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Environmental Changes on Forest Soil Quality and Health) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Versions Notes Abstract Plastic pollution has become a major environmental problem, while the products of its degradation, microplastics (MPs), appear everywhere on Earth. Data on MPs in agricultural soils have appeared lately, but a significant knowledge gap exists regarding forest soils. In Serbia, municipal waste is often dumped in forests, creating environmental problems that have not been documented. To explore the impact of waste dumping and MPs on forest fluvisols, we evaluated MPs from topsoils of three waste dumps and adequate visibly plastic non-contaminated forest sites located in alluviums of the largest rivers in Serbia. For assessing the influence of environmental factors on soil MPs, samples were taken in three forest vegetational seasons, in two years. The impact of MPs on soil structure, chemistry, and microbial respiration (MR) was examined. Undisturbed soil columns from uncontaminated sites with added known MP particles were used to estimate the dynamic of MP transfer through the topsoil. Large aggregate formation, soil coarse sand content, specific mass, porosity, and available P, but not MR were affected by contamination. Seasonal and annual environmental changes significantly influenced the behavior of MPs in forest luvisols. MPs effectively penetrated the deeper layers of soil columns within 3 months, with strong accumulation in the 0–10 cm layer.This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of Environmental Changes on Forest Soil Quality and HealthSupplementary data on this link: [https://rivec.institut-palanka.rs/handle/123456789/1057