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Occurrence and distribution of microplastics in organic fertilizers in China

The Science of The Total Environment 2022 129 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 50 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Shengwei Zhang, Shengwei Zhang, Yang Liu, Shengwei Zhang, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Shengwei Zhang, Shengwei Zhang, Shengwei Zhang, Shengwei Zhang, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Xingcai Chen, Yang Liu, Yanxia Li Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yanxia Li Shengwei Zhang, Jing Li, Jing Li, Jing Li, Jing Li, Jing Li, Yanxia Li Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yanxia Li Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Xingcai Chen, Xingcai Chen, Xingcai Chen, Xingcai Chen, Xiaoman Jiang, Shengwei Zhang, Jing Li, Shengwei Zhang, Yang Liu, Jing Li, Xiaoman Jiang, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Xingcai Chen, Xingcai Chen, Shengwei Zhang, Xiaoman Jiang, Xiaoman Jiang, Xingcai Chen, Jing Li, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Xiaoman Jiang, Jing Li, Jing Li, Jing Li, Jing Li, Jing Li, Jing Li, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Xiaoman Jiang, Yang Liu, Shengwei Zhang, Xingcai Chen, Yang Liu, Yang Liu, Shengwei Zhang, Xiaoman Jiang, Xiaoqi Yin, Jing Li, Jing Li, Xiaoqi Yin, Yang Liu, Shengwei Zhang, Xiaoman Jiang, Yang Liu, Xiaoqi Yin, Xiaoqi Yin, Jing Li, Jing Li, Xuelian Zhang, Xuelian Zhang, Jing Li, Xuelian Zhang, Yanxia Li

Summary

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in organic fertilizers across China, finding widespread plastic particles in compost, manure, and biosolids, identifying fertilizer application as an emerging pathway for microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils.

Body Systems

Reproductive

The use of organic fertilizers is becoming a routine measure of soil improvement in China, and therefore organic fertilizers are considered an emerging contributor to microplastic accumulation in farmland soils. However, little is known regarding the microplastic contents in organic fertilizers used across China. Here, we investigated the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in 102 organic fertilizer samples across 22 provincial administrative regions of China to serve as a basis for the development of better microplastic management strategies. Organic fertilizers are made of a wide variety of feedstocks, including livestock manure (chicken, cow, goat, and pig manure) and bacterial residues etc., and are mainly produced via aerobic composting. In present study, microplastics within a 0.1-5 mm range in different types of organic fertilizers were separated using a general sequential density flotation method. Microplastic abundances ranged from undetectable to 2550 items/kg, with an average value of 325 ± 511 items/kg and a detection frequency of 80.4 %. The highest microplastic abundances were detected in Beijing City (758 items/kg) and in compound organic fertilizers (average of 386 items/kg). The microplastics in organic fertilizer were primarily white/transparent (75.9 %), 1-3 mm in size (55 %), and film-shaped (39 %). Interestingly, microplastics were not detected in cow dung fertilizer, suggesting that cow dung-based fertilizers might generally contain lower microplastic levels. Moreover, organic fertilizer microplastics tended to be concentrated in provincial areas with intensive agriculture, and the input flux of microplastics from organic fertilizer into fertilized soils reached an average of 5.07 × 10 items per year. Collectively, our findings provide key insights into the current state of microplastic levels in organic fertilizers in China and serve as a basis for the creation of novel microplastic mitigation strategies in farmland soils.

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