Key Facts

In the 17th century the Peat Reclamation District (Veenkolonieën) canals were dug to transport the peat and to drain excess water. The remaining peat was covered with the sand from the canals to make the soil suitable for agriculture. Every year small amounts of peat were ploughed through to the sandy upper layer to ensure a stable organic matter content. To make the land more fertile, waste from the town of Groningen and animal dung were brought onto the land.

These soils had a high content of organic material. The introduction of fertilizers in about 1880 made it easier to turn the cut-over peat soils into profitable agricultural land, but the reduced amount of humus destabilized the soil structure. The organic material therefore contributes little to the forming of stable soil aggregates. Originally aeolian deposits, these sandy, reclaimed cut-over peat soils are very susceptible to wind erosion. In SOILPROM, we will look into the transport of pesticides and microplastics commonly used in the area through wind, along with the soil. (Compost and paper mulches are the main sources of plastic pollution in these parts).

Agricultural field (Potato, Barley, Onion)

Microplastics (from compost & plastic-containing paper mulch)

Soil & atmosphere

Process

Wind erosion and atmospheric transport, deposition of dust and microplastics.

Actions and expected results

• To get better insight into the spread of microplastics by wind erosion, several devices will be installed to measure aeolian transport and the climatic conditions under which these processes take place. This includes BSNE catchers, dust samplers, saltiphones, and meteorological stations.
• The collected wind-eroded sediment in the catchers and dust samples will be analysed for microplastic content. This will reveal the concentration microplastics in different size fractions. Using the meteorological data (windspeed, wind direction, u*, Rainfall, humidity, temperature, and turbulence) together with the microplastic data, their transport from the soil to the atmosphere will be estimated.The MicroHH model will be upgraded and validated using the field data.

Challenge

Measuring wind erosion is challenging as it depends on many different factors such as wind direction and wind speed, soil moisture conditions, and land use/soil cover. These are all very dynamic in time and space. It is therefore not certain if upcoming wind erosion events will generate enough data for modelling pesticide and microplastic transport.

Partner involved