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Micro and Nanoplastics in Ecosystems: Interrelated Sources, Risks, Pathways, Consequences, Mitigation, Challenges and Future Recommendations
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This review maps how micro- and nanoplastics travel between soil, water, and air, accumulate in food chains, and affect living organisms, while also examining mitigation strategies including microbial degradation and better waste management. Understanding these interconnected pathways is critical because plastics carry toxic chemical additives that amplify their health risks as they move through ecosystems.
One of the emerging environmental contaminants is micro and nanoplastics (MP/NPs), which are found all over the world. Their extreme durability and the discharge of chemicals and additives employed in the production of plastics could adversely impact living things globally. MP/NPs migrate or disperse from one environmental compartment to another because of the natural interconnection of the terrestrial, atmospheric, and aquatic ecosystems. However, there is still a lack of evidence regarding MP/NPs dispersion throughout environmental compartments and potential effects on living things. This review focuses on the effects of MP/NPs on living organisms after first introducing the dispersion mechanisms of MP/NPs in the environment and their impacts on soil physiochemical properties. The migration behavior of MP/NPs, their long-term accumulation trends, and their occurrence in the food chain are discussed based on the current understanding of these compounds. Finally, the article discussed the difficulties in cleaning up plastic pollution, mitigation strategies such as employing microbes and encouraging environmentally friendly trash disposal techniques, and the significant gaps in MP/NPs investigation that should be addressed in future research.
More Papers Like This
Micro/nanoplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: An Integrated Review of Occurrence, Toxicological Implications, Case Studies, Methodologies, and Future Recommendations
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This integrated review covers the occurrence, toxicology, and detection of micro- and nanoplastics across freshwater, marine, and estuarine ecosystems, using case studies to illustrate biomagnification through aquatic food webs and the compounding risk from co-occurring chemical contaminants. The review calls for stronger international collaboration and policy frameworks grounded in scientific evidence, recognizing that the pervasive nature of micro- and nanoplastics in aquatic systems poses escalating risks to both ecosystem integrity and human health.
Introduction to Microplastics: Origin, Environmental Pathways, and Impacts on Ecosystems and Human Health
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Researchers introduced the origins, environmental transport pathways, and ecosystem impacts of microplastics, tracing how the non-biodegradable nature of plastics combined with poor waste management has driven pollution of terrestrial, aquatic, and human biological systems.
Micro-nanoplastics in the Environment: Current Research and Trends
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Researchers review current knowledge on micro- and nanoplastic distribution across environmental compartments, documenting ingestion and inhalation pathways through food chains and evaluating trends in contamination levels in agricultural, aquatic, and human biological systems.
Micro- and Nanoplastics in Environment: Degradation, Detection, and Ecological Impact
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Researchers review how micro- and nanoplastics degrade, spread, and accumulate across ecosystems, synthesizing evidence of ecological harm at multiple levels of the food chain and warning that their near-invisible size makes them especially difficult to monitor and regulate.
Micro and nanoplastics in terrestrial ecosystems: pathways, health implications, and mitigation strategies
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Tiny plastic fragments from things like plastic mulch, tires, and compost are building up in farm soils, breaking down further, and getting absorbed by plant roots, meaning they could be entering the food we eat. This review pulls together existing research showing these particles can also harm soil health and plant growth, and while early studies suggest they may cause inflammation and cellular stress in living things, scientists still don't have solid data on how risky this is for human health. The takeaway: it's a real and growing concern worth watching, but more research is needed before we know exactly how much it affects us.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.