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Project properties |
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| Title | Effects of plastic debris and pesticides on soil microbial community |
| Group | Soil Physics and Land Management group |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 24-39 |
| Supervisor(s) | Nicolas Beriot and Esperanza Huerta |
| Examiner(s) | Coen Ritsema |
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| Begin date | 2020/02/09 |
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| Description | Problem context :
Plastic mulches are widely used in South Spain for organic and conventional vegetables production to maintain soil moisture and prevent weeds in semi-arid areas. In this region three plastic types can be distinguished according to their expected degradability in soils : i)Light density polyethylene (LDPE, mainly by physical degradation)); ii) Pro-oxidant Additive Containing plastics (physical weathering, photo-oxidation while oxidant condition are present); iii) Biodegradable plastic (mainly degradation by microorganisms). Plastic debris and pesticides residues can both be sources of carbon to soil microorganisms able to degrade them or toxic to other microorganisms. Research Objective/Question Is there a shift of the bacterial community in a soil incubating with pesticides and plastic residues? Are the effects similar for different plastics types and different pesticides? What are the synergetic effects of a mixture of pesticides and the plastic debris? What is expected from the student (type of research) - Preparing the mesososms - Doing the DNA extraction and sequencing of 16S and ITS regions - Doing the data analysis |
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