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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.
Microplastics have emerged as a pervasive environmental pollutant, infiltrating terrestrial ecosystems, including agricultural soils. These tiny plastic particles (<5 mm) originate from various sources, such as plastic mulching, sewage sludge application, and atmospheric deposition. Their persistence in soils poses significant risks to soil microbial communities, plant health, and ultimately human wellbeing through the food chain. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the sources, distribution, and fate of microplastics in agricultural soils, their effects on soil microbial diversity and function, and the potential implications for human health. We also discuss mitigation strategies and future research directions to address this growing environmental concern.
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Tiny toxins, big problems: the hidden threat of microplastic in agroecosystems
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This review examines the impacts of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils, covering sources from plastic mulch and irrigation, effects on soil structure, water retention, microbial diversity, and nutrient cycling, and consequences for crop health and food safety.
Microplastics in agricultural soils: sources, impacts, and mitigation strategies
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This review summarizes how microplastics enter agricultural soils through wastewater irrigation, plastic mulch breakdown, and atmospheric deposition, where they alter soil structure, microbial communities, and water retention. The particles can also carry heavy metals and organic pollutants into the food chain, threatening both crop productivity and human health, making it important to reduce plastic use in farming and improve waste management.
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.
Microplastics as an Emerging Environmental Pollutant in Agricultural Soils: Effects on Ecosystems and Human Health
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This review examines how microplastics enter and move through agricultural soil ecosystems, affecting soil properties, nutrient cycling, and the organisms that live in and depend on healthy soil. Researchers found that microplastics can alter key biogeochemical processes and interact with co-existing pollutants like heavy metals and pesticides, potentially compounding their harmful effects. The study highlights the need for prevention and control strategies as microplastic contamination of farmland becomes an increasingly recognized environmental and potential human health concern.
Microplastics in Agricultural Soils
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This review covers the presence of microplastics in agricultural soils, examining how plastic mulches, irrigation water, sewage sludge, and atmospheric deposition contribute to farmland contamination. It discusses effects on soil organisms and the risk of microplastics entering the food chain through crops.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.