Interactions of Microplastics with Co-Occurring Pollutants in Soil Environment

Microplastics (MPs) have been recognized as emerging persistent pollutants in the terrestrial subsurface. Although MPs study in the environment has traditionally focused on the river and marine environments, pollution in soil environment by MPs has recently gained great deal of research interest. MPs are reported in many terrestrial environments, including urban soils, agricultural soils, forest soils, sea coastlines, floodplain soils, and horticultural soils. The coexistence of MPs with other prevalent pollutants, such as heavy metals, organic pollutants, other inorganic pollutants, biological pollutants, etc., makes the situation even more complex. In contrast to previous reviews that primarily explored the occurrence, fate and transport of MPs in soil environment, there is a notable dearth of studies that compile and analyse the interaction between MPs and co-pollutants. Given the recent surge in research focusing on this interaction, a comprehensive review dedicated to understanding these studies is highly needed. Hence this review aims to bridge this gap in knowledge by focusing on the mechanism of interaction between MPs and various pollutants in the soil environment. It further examines the factors influencing these interactions such as MPs characteristics, external environmental factors as well as the properties of pollutants. Additionally, the study delves into the potential ecological impacts of their cooccurrence particularly the effects on soil properties, soil biota and nutrient cycling. By synthesising current findings, this work seeks to provide valuable insights into the implications of MPs- pollutants interactions and to identify knowledge gaps, paving the way for future research in this critical area.