@conference{
author = "Krnjajić, Slobodan and Štrbac, Filip and Radović, Vesela and Stanković, Slađan and Tomić, Vedran and Stefanović, Slobodan and Knežević, Goran and Marjanović, Žaklina",
year = "2023",
abstract = "Plastic has been recognized as one of the leading pollutants of all ecosystems. This question has been rarely raised in Serbia, although there is a significant problem with the disposal of communal and agricultural waste. Many wild landfills have been created in past decades in forests near the plasticulture practicing areas and rivers. Plastic materials are degraded by the influence of UV light and various environmental factors, creating smaller particles called microplastics, which are recognized as significantly dangerous to ecosystems. Alluvial planes have been the most endangered due to the horizontal and vertical fluvial activities of the nearby rivers. The influence of soil microplastics on insect communities has not been widely considered and that is why the project EMIPLAST-SoS has been created to investigate insect communities in polluted and unpolluted alluvial soils in Serbia. We compare them in forest and agricultural ecosystems on similar alluvial soils in three locations near three largest rivers in Serbia. Preliminary results from one-season sampling are considered. During the project the influence of the different seasons effects will be investigated. Additionally, we have investigated the rate of plastic decomposition by five insect species in lab conditions (Plodia interpunctella Hubner, Tenebrio molitor L., Zophobas morio Fabr., Achroia grisella Fabr. and Galleria mellonela L.). G. mellonela expressed the highest and the most diverse decomposition of different plastic sources like plastic bags, sponges and styrofoam. The analyses of the obtained plastic residues are still underway.",
publisher = "Hellenic Entomological Society",
journal = "Book of Abstracts of the XII European Congress Of Entomology, Crete, Greece",
title = "The Impact of Soil Microplastic on Insect Diversity and Plastic Decomposition by Insects",
pages = "422-421",
url = "https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_rimsi_2435"
}