TURK 2025

The increasing and unregulated production and use of plastics in recent decades has resulted in significant environmental pollution. The lack of proper recycling of plastic waste has led to numerous environmental problems and the accumulation of plastic fragments in the world's oceans and soil environments.
The aim of this research was to study and compare the microplastic pollution of urban and suburban soils. For this reason, soil samples were taken from 2 locations: the city center and a field near the mountains. Physicochemical analyzes such as water content, pH, electrical conductivity, carbonate content, water holding capacity and organic matter content were performed. The amount, size, shape and color of microplastics were examined visually and using a microscopic method. The study showed that the abundance of microplastics in the city center was 91 ± 17 particles per kg of soil, while in the suburbs it was 2 ± 1. In addition, to study the effect of microplastics on the microbial community of the soil, polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate copolymer at a concentration of 1, 5, 10% (w/w) was added to the soil samples and incubated for 4 weeks. Soil microbial respiration was analyzed by determining the CO2 content in the incubated soil every week. The results show that the higher the concentration of added microplastics, the lower the microbial activity in the soil. This study provides a basis for understanding the level of microplastic pollution in the soil in the city and developing measures to reduce it in the future.