Please note: We will be swapping from Zoom to MS Teams in the New Year. Further details to follow.
Davey Jones & Dave Chadwick from Bangor University will provide a summary of the activities and outcomes of several projects with relevance to Wales, that all explore the balance between the agronomic benefits of using Agriplastics (plastic film mulches) or products that may contain microplastics (e.g. biosolids) vs any risks of damaging soil and/or crop health:
- the GCRF-funded AgriPlastics project (https://www.gcrf-agriplastics.uk/). In this project we have been assessing the impacts of synthetic and biodegradable PFMs on nutrient cycling, GHG emissions and soil quality indicators using typical dose rates (there has been quite a lot of poor science using atypical concentrations). We know that plastics have a detrimental effect when they are present in aquatic systems, but there are uncertainties in our knowledge of their impacts within the soil-plant system. Hence, we have conducted a common field (plot-scale) experiment over multiple cropping season using synthetic and biodegradable PFMs in the 5 project partner countries (as well as here in Wales) to assess both the agronomic and environmental effects. As part of the project we have been developing standard protocols for MP sampling (of soil, biosolids, atmospheric deposition), extraction and analysis (MP numbers and polymer identification), and have been determining the quantity and types of microplastics in atmospheric deposition. In the final stages of the project we are planning a survey of UK farms to understand the farm-scale budgets for different AgriPlastics to understand the baseline of plastic use in different farming systems, as well as the fate of the different plastics used. This ‘Insight’ session might offer an opportunity to explore farmer networks to recruit friendly farmers in Wales for this survey.
- a PhD project assessing the role of PFM in organic vegetable growing in mid-Wales.
- a Smart Expertise funded project, BS2Land (https://www.bs2land.uk/) exploring the effects of biosolid applications to land.
About the Speakers
Davey Jones holds a Professorial Chair in Environmental Science and Public Health at Bangor University. Previously, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow held jointly between Cornell University and the US Department of Agriculture. A major focus of his research is on understanding below-ground processes with specific focus on nutrients and human pathogen behavior in water-food-soil-plant-microbial systems. His research portfolio is quite broad, reflecting his interests from natural sciences through to social sciences (i.e. science linked to changing human behaviour). Davey has published more than 714 scientific journal articles and advised UK and Welsh Government on their COVID-19, public health, agriculture, waste and climate change policies. He also collaborates with industry to deliver novel solutions to environmental problems and improve product sustainability. He currently leads the ‘Wastewater-based public health surveillance programme for Wales’ and sits on the UKWIR Substances of Emerging Concern Advisory Group (SECAG).
Dave Chadwick is an Agriculture and Environmental Scientist and Professor of Sustainable Land Use systems at Bangor University. His research interest include sustainable use of nutrient inputs, diffuse pollution measurements (to soil, air and water) and the testing of mitigation strategies in different farming systems. He led the InveN2Ory project to improve the nitrous oxide component of the UK’s agriculture greenhouse gas inventory and was PI of the Uplands-N2O project to determine factors that control nitrous oxide emissions from urine patches in extensively grazed upland systems. He is Co-I of two of the Greenhouse Gas Removal Demonstrator projects (Peatlands and Biochar and co-leads the project, Do agricultural microplastics undermine food security and sustainable development in developing countries? project. Dave has published over 300 papers and also contributes to policy and practice. He has contributed to previous sections of The Nutrient Management Guide on Organic Materials, and Grass and Forage Crops. He was a member of Defra’s Nutrient Management Expert Group (2020-2023) and is currently a member of Natural Resources Wales Evidence Advisory Committee.