Natural organic matter under human‐influenced environments: Implications for future environmental quality research

Considerable recent research has confirmed that anthropogenic materials including microplastics and nanomaterials have been integrated into soil and dissolved organic matter in the environment. These pools of organic matter could be geochemically processed through different pathways and have different chemical and physical characteristics than the pools of natural organic matter (NOM). However, environmental scientists and engineers currently refer to any organic matter collected in soil, water, and sediments as NOM. Since "real" NOM pools are rapidly dissipated due to losses in natural landscapes, the shift from NOM to human influenced-organic matter (Hi-OM) pools could have huge ecological impacts on the environment. Future environmental quality research should highlight the differences between Hi-OM from NOM.