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Atmospheric bulk deposition of microplastics in Jiuzhaigou World Natural Heritage Site: Tourism-associated divergence between particle number and polymer mass fluxes
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Researchers found that even in a protected natural park, areas with more tourist foot traffic had much higher levels of microplastic pollution falling from the air—up to 6 times more by weight than quieter areas, with plastics like polyester and polystyrene (common in synthetic clothing and packaging) showing up more near roads and trails. The good news: plant-covered slopes acted like natural filters, cutting microplastic fallout by roughly half, suggesting that protecting vegetation buffers and managing crowded areas could reduce human and environmental exposure to these tiny pollutants, which have raised health concerns as they can be inha
Atmospheric deposition is an exposure pathway for mountain protected ecosystems. However, the responses of microplastic (MP) number and mass deposition to visitor activity and vegetation buffers remain unclear. We monitored bulk deposition over one hydrological year at 19 background, lakeshore, and vegetated-slope sites in the Jiuzhaigou World Natural Heritage Site. MP numbers were quantified by stereomicroscopy with micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (μ-FTIR) verification. MP masses were measured with thermal desorption/pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD/Py-GC-MS). Annual mean deposition was 131 MPs m d and 197 μg m d. Tourism-exposed sites exhibited a 2.8-fold higher number flux and a 6.2-fold increased mass flux compared to low-tourism sites. The larger mass difference coincided with polymer composition differences. Polyethylene and polypropylene dominated deposition at the background sites, and polyethylene terephthalate and polystyrene were enriched at the roadside sites. Vegetated slope sites showed 27% lower number flux and 53% lower mass flux than lakeshore sites and finer particle sizes. Wet season deposition was higher, whereas the mass difference between roadside and background sites was larger in the dry season. Particle number and polymer mass provide complementary exposure metrics for visitor corridor management and vegetation buffer conservation.
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