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Characteristic study of microplastics distribution and response to human activities in nine highland lakes in Yunnan province
Summary
Researchers characterized microplastic distribution patterns across nine highland lakes in Yunnan Province, China, examining abundance, morphology, and polymer types while investigating how human activities influence contamination levels across lakes with differing land-use pressures. The study found that microplastic abundance correlated with proximity to human settlements and agricultural activity, with fibers and fragments as the dominant morphotypes across the surveyed lakes.
Nine highland lakes in Yunnan Province—Dian Lake, Erhai Lake, Fuxian Lake, Qilu Lake, Yilong Lake, Xingyun Lake, Yangzonghai Lake, Chenghai Lake, and Lugu Lake—were the principal objects of this study. To investigate the microplastic pollution patterns in highland lakes and to identify the most effective microplastic monitoring techniques, the distribution characteristics, abundance, and species of microplastics in the water bodies and sediments of nine highland lakes were scientifically sampled and analyzed in this study. To better understand the relationship between the level of economic development, the intensity of human activity and the level of governmental attention to environmental protection, the strength of the general public's environmental awareness, and the level of microplastic pollution in the Yunnan region, this study also looked into the areas surrounding nine highland lakes. To analyze and study the relationship between the distribution characteristics of microplastics in water bodies and sediments in the nine lakes and external natural conditions, additional external factors, such as geographic location and climatic conditions of the study area of the nine highland lakes, were collected and collated.