We welcome Dr. Serra-Willow Buchanan as a speaker for our SES Seminar series to talk about "Tiny Pollutants, Big Questions: The Role of Microplastics in Soil Ecosystems". Dr. Serra-Willow Buchanan is a postdoctoral scholar in the School of Environmental Sciences with Dr. Kari Dunfield and Dr. Adam Gillespie. 

Abstract

Microplastic (MP) pollution in soils is an emerging environmental issue with implications for terrestrial ecosystems. These tiny and diverse pollutants have the potential to alter essential plant-soil-microbe interactions and impact soil carbon dynamics, prompting critical questions about their ecological consequences. Drawing on three complementary studies, this talk explores how different types of MPs affect plant growth and nutrition, root morphology, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal interactions, and soil carbon (C) dynamics. By investigating these relationships in controlled experiments, this research unravels the complex ways in which MPs interact with both living and non-living components of soil ecosystems. While the accumulation of MPs in soils poses significant challenges, it’s not all bad news! This work also highlights the remarkable resilience of plants and their ability to adapt to these unexpected soil contaminants. 

Bio

Dr. Serra-Willow Buchanan is a postdoctoral scholar in the School of Environmental Sciences with Dr. Kari Dunfield and Dr. Adam Gillespie. She holds an M.Sc. in Geography from the University of Toronto in (2016) and a Ph.D. in Physical and Environmental Science from the University of Toronto Scarborough (2022) where she examined the relationship between plant functional trait strategies and ecosystem functioning within temperate (southern Ontario) and tropical (Costa Rica) agroecosystems. Her current research explores the effects of terrestrial microplastics on soil biota, plant performance, and soil carbon cycling.