Abstract:

At present, human endeavors inevitably produce waste, which, without an efficient handling, it poses a threat to the environment. Among all anthropogenic pollutants, plastics have emerged as a focal point in scientific and media discussions due to their widespread production, global distribution, and profound environmental repercussions. Once in the environment, plastics are naturally fragmentated to yield tiny pieces lower than 5 mm in their longest dimension, or also produced as such, which are known as microplastics (MPs). The occurrence of MPs in soils and their associated ecological implications in flora, fauna and microbiota have been attracting attention during the last years. On the one hand, an important part of the recent research has focused on soils submitted to prolonged agricultural activities, since they have been identified as the main source of plastics. On the other hand, the detection of MPs from places far from human activities has also been reported, e.g., in the soils from remote areas of the Himalayan Plateau. The feasibility of fairly easily conducting soil samplings in many world regions involving both agricultural and relatively pristine soils for the subsequent analysis of MPs and other anthropogenic particles, makes this a perfect multidisciplinary scientific topic to address in the context of higher education.

To finish their Master’s Degree (MD) studies, Spanish students must develop a Final Master’s Degree Project (FMDP), which in the Area of Sciences is normally proposed as the performance of an experimental work, followed by the preparation of a written report and an oral communication in a public defence. Project-based learning (PBL) is a teaching-learning approach that engages students in real and many-sided challenges that must be addressed working in a collaborative fashion. Thus, a FMDP focused on the determination of MPs and other anthropogenic debris in both natural and agricultural soils is a valuable target to apply a PBL methodology to achieve a holistic approach to a multifaceted environmental problem. Herein we described our experience when this topic was chosen as a FMDP for the “Master Degree in Terrestrial Biodiversity and Conservation in Islands” carried out in the ULL (University of La Laguna). As plastic pollution is a worldwide and current problem, the proposed PBL can be easily exportable to other universities and MDs.

Keywords:

University education, Final Master’s Degree Project, anthropogenic pollution, edaphology, chemistry.