Urban agriculture has been targeted as a solution to meet a range of sustainable development goals, including: responsible production systems, equitable access to nutritious food, and reducing net carbon release. However, urban areas available for farming are often polluted. An emerging concern in urban areas is microplastic pollution, but there is little data on levels and mitigation in urban agriculture.
This project will build on a community partnership with Urban Roots, a non-profit in east St. Paul that fosters urban agriculture and green space restoration. Initially, the team will survey the extent of microplastic pollution in several urban gardens. They will then experiment with biochar as a soil amendment to reduce the movement of microplastics from soils to plants and consumers. The team will also explore the impacts of such microplastic pollution on common urban pollinators, using the cabbage white butterfly as an experimental system.
Project Team
- Emilie Snell-Rood, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, UMN-Twin Cities
- Lindsey Kemmerling, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, UMN-Twin Cities
- Lauren Agnew, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, UMN-Twin Cities
- Cara Santelli, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, UMN-Twin Cities
- Nic Jelinski, Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, UMN-Twin Cities
- Lee Penn, Department of Chemistry, UMN-Twin Cities
- Matt Simcik, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, UMN-Twin Cities
- David Woods, Urban Roots
- Skyler Hawkins, Urban Roots
