MINAGRIS presents at soil science webinar
We were recently invited to give a presentation during a British Society of Soil Science webinar, which took place on 5th April 2023. After a fascinating presentation from Prof Matthias Rillig surrounding his research on the impacts of plastics on soil health, our very own Dr Taru Sanden, presented on the behalf of MINAGRIS, starting with an overview of the extent of plastic use in agriculture. She then outlined the objectives of MINAGRIS before examining ways of recording plastic presence in agricultural soils, with a focus on our mobile App, SoilPlastic, which allows citizens to send us records of plastic debris present in agricultural fields. You can watch a recording of the webinar now here.
Use of Plastic and its Impacts in Organic Agriculture
MINAGRIS partners have hosted a participatory workshop at the scientific conference for organic agriculture farmers, land managers and the scientific community.
Partners involved are working on the assessment of plastic use across Europe and resulting microplastic concentrations in soil (WP3), and the overall sustainability analysis of the impact of microplastics and other stressors on ecosystem services (WP7).
They presented some of our findings so far, and held a series of smaller participatory workshops discussing whether organic agriculture possible without plastic, biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable plastic, and the plastic supply chain in food sector. MINAGRIS project partners Ildko Heim, Joelle Herforth-Rahme, Andreas Fliessbach, Anja Vieweger and Dominika Kundel hosted the event, with a small but very active group of participants, producing valuable insights into these important issues.