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Impacts of microplastics and urbanization on soil health: An urgent concern for sustainable development
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics and urbanization together degrade soil health — disrupting soil biology, contaminating food chains, and creating compounding risks beyond what either factor causes alone. The study calls for urgent management strategies including reducing plastic use, sustainable urban planning, and active soil restoration.
This review offers a novel perspective by exploring the combined effects of microplastics (MPs) and urbanization on soil health, differing from conventional studies that focus solely on individual factors. Integrating the impact of urbanization and MPs provides a holistic view, revealing significant implications for soil degradation. As research on microplastics within soil gains traction, understanding the complex interplay between urban soil and microplastics becomes crucial. We have conducted a comprehensive review of existing literature, examining the origins of microplastics, their movement through soil, detrimental effects on soil health and function, transmission through food chains, and consequent harm to soil organisms. This review aims to summarize the origins and consequences of MPs and urbanization on soil health, assess the influence of MPs on soil vitality and functionality, and scrutinize potential ecological and health hazards within soil due to microplastics. By consolidating prior research, this review contributes insights into land-use changes associated with urbanization, elucidates the relationship between MPs and urbanization concerning soil health, examines microplastic migration and toxicology, and proposes management strategies to mitigate the risks posed by MPs and urbanization. The urgent need to develop effective strategies to manage these pollutants stresses the significance of this research, suggesting approaches such as reducing plastic usage, implementing sustainable urban and industrial practices, and employing efficient soil restoration methods.
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Researchers sampled soils across residential, commercial, and industrial land-use types in urban areas and found microplastics in every location, with polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyamide as the dominant polymer types, at concentrations up to 850,000 particles per kilogram. Heavy metals were also associated with the plastic particles, meaning microplastics in urban soil may serve as combined carriers of chemical toxicants. The findings highlight urban soil as a major but underappreciated reservoir of microplastic pollution.
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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.