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Current studies on the degradation of microplastics in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem
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This review summarizes current studies on microplastic degradation in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, covering physical, chemical, and biological degradation pathways and the fate of breakdown products. The review highlights the persistence of microplastics and the limited progress toward efficient degradation under natural environmental conditions.
Soil and water are two important basic ecosystems for the survival of different organisms. The excessive microplastic pollutants in soil have been directly discharged into the terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastic pollutants (MPs) constitute a ubiquitous global menace due to their durability, flexibility, and tough nature. MPs posed threat to the sustainability of the ecosystem due to their small size and easy transportation via ecological series resulting in the accumulation of MPs in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. After being emitted into the terrestrial ecosystem, the MPs might be aged by oxidative degeneration (photo/thermal), reprecipitation (bioturbation), and hetero-accumulation. The mechanism of adsorption, degradation, and breakdown of MPs into unaffected plastic debris is accomplished by using several biological, physical, and chemical strategies. This review presents the importance of ecosystems, occurrence and sources of MPs, its toxicity, and the alteration in the ecology of the ecosystems. The inhibitory impact of MPs on the ecosystems also documents to unveil the ecological hazards of MPs. Further research is required to study the immobilization and recovery efficiency of MPs on a larger scale.
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Microplastics in Our Planet: Source, Distribution, Effects and Biodegradation
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.