0
Article Tier 2 Detection Methods Environmental Sources Marine & Wildlife Policy & Risk Sign in to save

Microplastics research in Mexico (2015-2024) in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems: a summary of locations, media, characterization methods and findings

AI summary Read the abstract

Researchers reviewed 38 indexed studies on microplastic contamination in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems across Mexico published between 2015 and 2024, finding research distributed across soils/sediments (34%), fauna (34%), water (24%), flora (5%), and air (3%). The review highlights substantial methodological variability across studies and calls for standardised protocols to improve comparability of Mexican microplastics research.

The current state of microplastics (MPs) research in Mexico is examined through a sample of 38 articles published in indexed, high-impact databases, which analyzed concentrations of MPs in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems between 2015 and 2024. Of these studies, 34% focused on soils and sediments, another 34% on fauna (mainly fish), 24% on water, 5% on flora and 3% on air. There is great variability in the methods, protocols and parameters used to detect and characterize microplastics, which can be attributed to the lack of specific standards for these studies. This analysis underscores the need to implement standardized protocols and guidelines.

More Papers Like This

Review Tier 2

The state of microplastic pollution in México: a review and evolving perspectives

AI summary Read the abstract

A PRISMA-based review of microplastic research in Mexico documented growing contamination across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments, characterized the dominant polymer types and particle shapes, and identified major knowledge gaps needing attention in the Mexican context.

Article Tier 2

Review of sampling, detection, and characterization methods for microplastics and quality control in water column and sediments

AI summary Read the abstract

This Spanish-language review surveys the methods used to sample, detect, and characterize microplastics in water and sediments, cataloguing the advantages and limitations of each approach. The authors highlight that the lack of standardized protocols makes it impossible to reliably compare studies — a critical obstacle to understanding how widespread microplastic contamination really is and what it means for ecosystems and human health.

Article Tier 2

Impact of land use and other parameters on the presence of microplastics in soil and ground water

AI summary Read the abstract

A Spanish-language review synthesized findings from 41 studies on microplastic contamination in soil and groundwater, identifying a clear link between land use type and microplastic presence while highlighting the near-total absence of standardized sampling and analytical methods across studies. Groundwater microplastic research remains especially sparse despite the direct drinking-water implications. The authors call for regulatory threshold limits for microplastics in soil and groundwater to enable risk-based management of contaminated sites.

Article Tier 2

Microplastics: Presence and dissemination in the environment

AI summary Read the abstract

This Spanish-language review examines the current state of microplastic research, covering characterization methods, their presence in water, soil, and air, impacts on food webs and human health, and strategies needed to address this global environmental challenge.

Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an emerging hazard to terrestrial and marine ecosystems: Sources, Occurrence and Analytical Methods

AI summary Read the abstract

This review summarized the sources, occurrence, and detection methods for microplastics across multiple environmental compartments, noting that methodological limitations make comparison across studies difficult. The review calls for standardized analytical approaches to better quantify global microplastic contamination.

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.

Email me about

Share this paper