RurbanPollution – Effects of rurbanity on soil quality and pollution

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Matthias Gassmann; Professor Dr. Stephan Peth
• Subject Area: Soil Sciences ; Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management ; Ecology of Land Use
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 548312187

Project A03 investigates how rurbanity affects soil health, a prerequisite for the maintenance of soil ecosystem services, at two study sites, Accra (Ghana) and Bengaluru (India). It investigates fluxes and soil pollution by the emerging contaminants PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and microplastics. Our hypothesis is that rurban soils show a patchy pollution behaviour, depending on their land use history. The fluxes of the chosen pollutants associated with compost and wastewater towards agricultural areas and the current state of soil pollution will be determined by field sampling campaigns. Drone-based multispectral imaging will be used for developing a method for the spatially distributed identification of microplastics in the field. Based on field measurements of soil pollution, drone-based images, measurements of soil electrical conductivity in the field, land use maps, and structural attributes of built-up areas, risk maps of potential soil pollution will be created. Additionally, the fate of the chosen pollutants will be investigated by laboratory soil column experiments (PFAS) and, in cooperation with project A04, in field experiments with compost and wastewater application. Two numerical PFAS leaching models, with different approaches for PFAS fate simulations, will be calibrated to the experimental data and used for an assessment of PFAS fate in soil until the end of the century. Scenarios of consumers’ future behaviour and regulations will provide information on PFAS soil pollution as influenced by the people in rurban spaces. All analyses and experiments are conducted at both study sites. The results will be compared and the differences between the study sites will be analysed. In Phase 2, we will apply the developed methods to the study site in Morocco, extend our approach to other emerging pollutants, and will use the data gained and the methods developed in Phase 1 for an upscaling approach.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5903: Sustainable Rurbanity - Resources, Society, and Regulatory Systems
• International Connection: Ghana, India
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Sathish Ayyappa; Dr. Priyanka Jamwal; Professor Dr. Vincent Kodjo Avornyo; Professor Dr. George Nyarko; Professor Dr. Mike Osei-Atweneboana, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Edward Yeboah