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The Hidden Threat Beneath: Fate, Behaviour and Effects of Microplastics in Agricultural Soils
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This review pulls together years of research showing that tiny plastic particles are building up in farm soils—often at higher levels than in ocean water—from sources like plastic mulch, sewage sludge, and irrigation water. These microplastics can harm soil health and creatures like earthworms, get absorbed into crops we eat, and have even been found in human tissue like the placenta, raising real questions about long-term food safety. While scientists are still figuring out exactly how dangerous this is, the findings suggest it's worth paying attention to how plastic use in farming might quietly be making its way into our food supply and bodies.
Microplastic contamination of agricultural soils represents one of the most pervasive and poorly understood facets of the broader plastic pollution crisis. Agricultural soils globally receive microplastics through multiple, often concurrent pathways — including the degradation of plastic mulch films, the land application of sewage sludge and compost, irrigation with contaminated water, and atmospheric deposition — and may harbour plastic particle concentrations considerably exceeding those found in marine surface waters. This narrative review synthesises current knowledge on the sources, fate, and ecological and agronomic effects of microplastics in agricultural soil systems, drawing on peer-reviewed literature published between 2004 and 2026. The literature search was conducted across nine electronic databases. Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar served as broad multidisciplinary repositories, providing comprehensive coverage of the mainstream soil science, ecotoxicology, and environmental chemistry literature. The available evidence indicates that microplastics alter fundamental soil physical properties such as aggregation, porosity, and water-holding capacity, whilst simultaneously disrupting microbial community structure, enzymatic activity, and nutrient cycling. Soil fauna — including collembolans, nematodes, and earthworms — suffer reduced reproductive success, altered gut microbiota, and heightened mortality at environmentally relevant concentrations. Crop plants exposed to microplastics exhibit impaired germination, reduced root elongation, and diminished biomass, with evidence of nanoplastic and submicrometre particle uptake into plant tissue raising serious food safety concerns. Human health implications range from chemical co-contaminant transfer to the detection of microplastic particles in human systemic tissues, including the placenta. Mitigation strategies remain at a nascent stage, encompassing biodegradable mulch film substitution, enhanced wastewater treatment, improved biosolid management, and emerging regulatory frameworks governing plastic use in agriculture. The review identifies critical knowledge gaps — particularly regarding long-term soil accumulation kinetics, nanoplastic behaviour, and the cumulative toxicity of plastic-associated contaminants — and calls for internationally coordinated monitoring and standardised analytical approaches to better characterise the threat that microplastics pose to agricultural productivity and global food security.
More Papers Like This
Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: An Emerging Threat to Soil Health, Microbial Ecology, Crop Productivity, and Food Safety
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This review examines how microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils from sources like plastic mulch, sewage sludge, and atmospheric deposition. Researchers found that these particles can disrupt soil microbial communities, harm plant health, and potentially enter the human food chain. The study highlights the urgent need for mitigation strategies to address this growing but often overlooked form of pollution in farmland.
The hidden burden of microplastics in soils: sources, impacts, and sustainable solutions – a review
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This review pulls together existing research on how tiny plastic particles (microplastics) are building up in farm soils—coming from sources like plastic mulch, wastewater, and sewage sludge used as fertilizer. These particles can harm soil microbes and disrupt nutrient cycles that crops depend on, which matters because it ties directly to our food supply and the plastic content of the food we eat. The authors note that scientists still need better tools to detect microplastics and stronger policies to clean up and prevent this pollution before it becomes a bigger problem for food security.
Microplastic Contamination in Agricultural Soil: Sources, Distribution, Impact and Management: A Review
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This review pulls together existing research showing that farm soils now contain even more tiny plastic bits than ocean water does, largely from plastic mulch, sewage sludge, and irrigation water. These microplastics can harm soil health, reduce crop growth, and carry along other harmful chemicals like pesticides—and since they've been found inside the edible parts of plants, they may be making their way into our food, though scientists still don't fully know what that means for human health. Bottom line: this is a growing, under-the-radar problem worth watching, but the solutions being tested (like special soil additives) aren't ready for widespread use yet.
Microplastics in agricultural soils, their sources, environmental impacts, ecological risks, and mitigation strategies
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Tiny plastic bits are building up in farm soil from sources like plastic mulch, sewage-based fertilizers, and irrigation water, and this review of existing research shows they can mess with soil's ability to hold water and nutrients while also acting as hitchhikers for heavy metals, pesticides, and harmful germs. Since this soil grows our food, contaminated farmland could mean these pollutants—and the microplastics themselves—end up on our plates. The good news: solutions like biodegradable farm materials, natural soil additives, and better monitoring could help curb the problem if adopted widely.
Assessing microplastic translocation from contaminated agricultural soils to food crops
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Tiny plastic bits from mulch films, sewage-based fertilizers, and contaminated irrigation water are building up in farm soils—and this review of existing research confirms they don't just stay in the dirt. These plastics can actually move into the edible parts of crops, harm soil health and plant growth along the way, and create a direct route for plastic to end up on your plate. The researchers call for better plastic alternatives, stronger waste management, and more study to fully understand what this means for human health long-term.
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