Forests, meadows, vines… microplastics are omnipresent in French agricultural soils, warns Ademe

A study published Thursday, December 26, 2024 by the French Agency for Ecological Transition highlights the almost systematic presence of microplastics in agricultural soils in France, highlighting for the first time the extent of this pollution.

A study published Thursday by the French Agency for Ecological Transition reveals an almost systematic presence of microplastics in agricultural soils in France, highlighting for the first time the importance of this pollution.

The source not identified

Of the 33 samples taken from sites as diverse as forests, meadows, vineyards and orchards or large-scale crop areas spread across the territory of metropolitan France, 25 – or 76% – contained microplastics.

On average, the soils analyzed contain 15 microplastic particles per kg of dry soil.

The Agency for Ecological Transition states in a press release that the data collected did not identify the source of microplastics, but the organization “assumes that, for soils dedicated to agricultural activities, part of their origin comes from the agricultural practices implemented”.

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Resulting from the degradation of plastics that accumulate in landfills or the natural environment, microplastics are particles whose size is less than 5 millimeters.

Many studies have already looked at the contamination they generate in the oceans, but soil contamination is less well known and has been the subject of little work in France.

“This is the first study to characterize the extent of this contamination on the scale of metropolitan France, on soils subject to different agricultural uses and not having received direct inputs of plastic” by human intervention, emphasize the authors of the study.

The analyses carried out revealed contamination by microplastics in all meadow soils (4 out of 4 samples), in more than three quarters of large-scale crop soils (17 out of 21), in three out of four samples of vineyards and orchards and in only one out of four samples of forest soils.

What did the soil samples contain??

The soil samples mainly contained polyethylene and polypropylene, polymers mainly present in plastic packaging.

“This almost systematic presence of microplastics in the soils studied shows that it is urgent to continue these studies in order to provide monitoring data on microplastics in soils”, by extending the scope to urban areas and overseas territories, observe the researchers.

A deeper understanding is essential to “characterize common contaminations and […] identify their sources, in order to implement an effective action plan” to limit and prevent this pollution, specifies Isabelle Deportes, engineer at the ecological transition agency, quoted in a press release.