We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
A neglected transport of plastic debris to cities from farmland in remote arid regions
Summary
Researchers found that wind erosion in semiarid farmland regions transports significant quantities of plastic debris, including microplastics, to distant urban areas, identifying a previously neglected long-range transport pathway in arid environments.
Although microplastics have been investigated in terrestrial environments, the occurrence and transport of microplastics in semiarid regions with serious wind erosion are still limited. We investigated plastic debris, including macroplastics (>5 mm) and microplastics (50 μm to 5 mm), from twenty semiarid farmlands and then developed a mass flux model to calculate the quantities of plastic debris transport by wind erosion. Finally, the spatial extent of microplastic deposition was estimated. The average abundance of macroplastics increased with duration of mulching film use, whereas the abundance of microplastics did not change significantly (p > 0.05). Moreover, the highest abundance of microplastics among samples was from the farmland using greenhouse, which suggests that wind erosion played an essential role in retention of plastic debris. Besides, the enrichment ratio (ER) which depends on the shape of microplastics is identified to be a key indicator of the mass flux model. The results showed that 6.91-38.11 kg/ha of plastic debris was released by wind in the 25th year after film application, with 6.14 n/m of microplastics settling in February in Xi'an, which is 690 km away from the source.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Microplastics in agricultural soils from a semi-arid region and their transport by wind erosion
Researchers found microplastics heterogeneously distributed in agricultural soils from semi-arid Iran, with plastic-mulched and wastewater-irrigated fields both contaminated, and demonstrated that wind erosion can transport microplastics from soil surfaces to new locations.
Sandstorms contribute to the atmospheric microplastic pollution: Transport and accumulation from degraded lands to a megacity
Researchers studied how sandstorms transport microplastics from degraded lands to a major city and found surprisingly high deposition rates during storm events. They traced the transport pathways and discovered that sandstorms can carry microplastics hundreds of kilometers, significantly increasing urban atmospheric microplastic levels. The study reveals that degraded and arid landscapes serve as important but overlooked sources of airborne microplastic pollution.
Wind erosion induced low-density microplastics migration at landscape scale in a semi-arid region of northern China
Researchers sampled agricultural fields with plastic film mulching and adjacent downwind grasslands in a semi-arid region of northern China, finding that wind erosion transported low-density microplastic fragments at landscape scale from agricultural sources into natural grassland ecosystems.
Quantification of wind-driven MP mobilisation potential in semi-arid regions in Kazakhstan using wind tunnel experiments
Researchers used wind tunnel experiments to quantify wind-driven microplastic mobilisation potential in the semi-arid steppe landscape of northeastern Kazakhstan, finding that the loess soils, flat terrain, and erosive climate create conditions for significant aeolian MP emission particularly as modern agricultural intensification increases plastic inputs.
Wind erosion as a driver for transport of light density microplastics
Researchers investigated wind erosion as a transport mechanism for microplastics across different land uses in Iran and found that wind-eroded sediments contained significant quantities of light-density microplastic particles. Agricultural and barren lands showed higher microplastic concentrations in wind-eroded material. The study identifies wind as an important but overlooked pathway for spreading microplastic contamination across landscapes.