Environmental Risk and Management of Microplastics in Soil

Microplastic is an organic pollutant that poses an enormous threat to the global ecosystem due to the extensive use of microplastics in daily needs and poor handling. Microplastics are widely distributed into the soil and enter into it through primary (raw materials from industry, cosmetics products) and secondary (textile and tire wear) sources and other sources such as plastic mulching, employing organic fertilizer. Microplastics accumulate several harmful chemicals such as persistent organic pollutants, which may contaminate the soil and amplify the damage caused by microplastic to soil organisms. Microplastics are also affecting the soil's physiochemical properties such as soil structure and nutrient cycling, soil biota and terrestrial ecosystem. All these effects depend on the plastics' polymer types, shape and size. Microplastic particles migrate into the soil through abiotic and biotic processes like bioturbation, leaching and farming activities. Microplastic is easily identified from the soil by employing several analytical techniques. This chapter highlights the sources, fate, abundance, identification and risk of microplastics within soil biota.