Role of mangrove forest in interception of microplastics (MPs): Challenges, progress, and prospects

Mangroves receive microplastics (MPs) from terrestrial, marine and atmospheric sources, acting as a huge filter for environmental MPs between land and sea. Due to the high primary production and complex hydrodynamic conditions in mangroves, MPs are extensively intercepted in various ways while flowing through mangroves, leading to a long-standing but fiercely increasing MPs accumulation. However, current researches mainly focused on the occurrence, source and fate of MPs pollution in mangroves, ignoring the role of mangrove forests in the interception of MPs. Our study firstly demonstrates that mangrove ecosystems have significantly greater MPs interception capacity than their surrounding environments. Then, the current status of studies related to the interception of MPs in mangrove ecosystems is comprehensively reviewed, with the main focus on the interception process and mechanisms. At last, the most pressing shortcomings of current research are highlighted regarding the intercepted flux, interception mechanisms, retention time and ecological risks of MPs in mangrove ecosystems and the relevant future perspectives are provided. This review is expected to emphasize the critical role of mangrove forests in the interception of MPs and provide the foundational knowledge for evaluating the MPs interception effect of mangrove forests globally.