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Environmental fate of microplastics in the world's third-largest river: Basin-wide investigation and microplastic community analysis
Water Research2021
254 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 55
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Haibo Zhang,
Weihong Zhang,
Weihong Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Weihong Zhang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Weihong Zhang,
Weihong Zhang,
Weihong Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Li Lin,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenke Yuan
Wenke Yuan
Wenke Yuan
Wenke Yuan
Wenke Yuan
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenke Yuan
Wenke Yuan
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Yuyi Yang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenke Yuan
Wenke Yuan
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenke Yuan
Wenke Yuan
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Li Lin,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Wenke Yuan
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Weihong Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Wenfeng Wang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenfeng Wang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Yuyi Yang,
Weihong Zhang,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Li Lin,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Jiawei Li,
Wenke Yuan
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenke Yuan
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Weihong Zhang,
Weihong Zhang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Haibo Zhang,
Li Lin,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Yuyi Yang,
Wenke Yuan
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenfeng Wang,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenke Yuan
Yuyi Yang,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Wenke Yuan
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Wenke Yuan
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Weihong Zhang,
Weihong Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Wenfeng Wang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Yuyi Yang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Yuyi Yang,
Yuyi Yang,
Li Lin,
Yuyi Yang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Yuyi Yang,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Weihong Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Joseph A. Christie‐Oleza,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Yuyi Yang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Yuyi Yang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Yuyi Yang,
Haibo Zhang,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Haibo Zhang,
Wenke Yuan
Yuyi Yang,
Elvis Genbo Xu,
Wenke Yuan
Summary
Researchers conducted a basin-wide investigation of microplastics throughout the entire Yangtze River system, sampling water, sediment, and soil. The study found microplastics in all samples with abundance increasing from upstream to downstream, driven by both geographical and human factors, with major cities at the middle and lower reaches identified as key pollution nodes.
Rivers have been recognized as major transport pathways for microplastics into the sea but large-scale quantitative data on the environmental fate of riverine microplastics remains limited, hindering proper risk assessment and development of regulatory measures. Microplastics in the whole Yangtze River Basin of China were systematically investigated by sampling the water, sediment, and soil. Microplastics were detected in all samples, with an average abundance of 1.27 items/L, 286.20 items/kg, and 338.09 items/kg for water, sediments, and soils, respectively, with polypropylene and polyethylene being the most abundant polymers. A generally increasing trend of microplastic abundance from upstream to downstream was identified, which were co-attributed by geographical and anthropogenic factors including elevation, longitude, distance from the nearest city, population density, urbanization rate, and land use. Microplastics in the sediments showed more prominent vertical migration than those in the soils, and the density and size of microplastics may be the key factors governing the migration of microplastics across different compartments. Community analysis showed that microplastics in different compartments were significantly different and highly correlated with geographical distance. Major cities at the middle and lower reaches were considered pivotal nodes of microplastic pollution in the Yangtze River Basin. Policy recommendations were also proposed towards better remediation of microplastic pollution involving riverine systems.