SoilPlastic vs EchoSoil

Plastic use has facilitated many practices in agriculture in the past decades. However, the increased application leads to aggregations of plastic in the fields in various contents. From the different plastic debris micro-, and nano-plastics (MNP) are derived and are small enough to be ingested by a wide range of organisms and can cross biological barriers at nano-scale and enter plant systems. This emerging risk has prompted first studies that confirmed the high potential of accumulation of MP in soils causing changes in physico-chemical soil properties. Consequently, this can cause alternation of soil functions such as soil water dynamics and ultimately affect related ecosystem services (ESS) like nutrient cycling, plant growth, and soil biodiversity, which have unmeasured impacts on the economy of the farm. These effects could be even magnified with the presence of MP in combination of other soil pollutants, such as pesticides and veterinary drugs or plastic additives (e.g. dyes), potentially exhibiting synergistic effects. Within the EU research project ‘Minagris’ these interactive mechanisms are explored and documented. This App /’SoilPlastic’ motivates and engages various stakeholders to contribute to this process by observing and documenting plastic residues/littering in and on soils, submitting anonymized content to a global database. The aim is to identify needs, improve farmer and citizen awareness, provide practitioners with scientifically sound guidance on the impact of different plastic uses and inputs on soil ecosystems – enabling them to make informed decisions – and joint development of novel strategies for reducing plastic contamination. Additionally, with the observed data, a better understanding of any potentially harmful impacts of plastic debris to soil functions, soil biodiversity, related ESS, agricultural productivity at the field level, and related socio-economic consequences at farm level is provided. The App is running on the SPOTTERON Citizen Science Platform at www.spotteron.net

EchoSoil is the official mobile app of the ECHO project, a citizen science initiative co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme. This app empowers individuals, communities, and researchers to monitor and protect soil health across Europe. EchoSoil enables users to: Collect and share soil data from their surroundings Upload photos and observations to the ECHOREPO open-access repository Learn about soil biodiversity and restoration Participate in a Europe-wide effort to promote soil stewardship The app is fully free to use and designed for educational, scientific, and environmental engagement purposes. All collected data contributes to a collaborative EU-wide initiative aimed at restoring and protecting soil ecosystems. Visit https://echosoil.eu for more information about the project and its impact.