Cynthia Rieckhof Rivas, a predoctoral researcher in IMDEA Water’s Soil and Water Quality in the Environment group, defended her doctoral thesis, entitled Fate and transport of micro- and nanoplastics through the vadose zone, at the University of Alcalá on 6 November.

The thesis, supervised by Virtudes Martínez Hernández and Raffaella Meffe, investigates the fate and transport of these particles in the soil zone between the land surface and groundwater. To this end, it combines laboratory experiments with a mesocosm study conducted under environmentally realistic conditions.

The results show that the mobility of micro- and nanoplastics depends mainly on particle size and soil texture. They also highlight the influence of factors such as rainfall intensity, vegetation and root development. Overall, agricultural soils act as a natural barrier to the vertical transport of these particles, although biodegradable microplastics can persist and accumulate in them.

This research contributes to assessing the risk of micro- and nanoplastics being transferred to water bodies and to developing strategies to mitigate plastic pollution in agricultural environments.