We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Detection technology and ecological effects of microplastics in soil
Summary
This review summarizes detection methods and ecological effects of microplastics in soil environments. Microplastics in farmland can disrupt soil structure, microbial communities, and plant growth, with implications for food safety and agricultural sustainability.
Microplastics (MPs), as an emerging environmental pollutant, refers to plastic particles with length or width less than 5 mm. Due to the small particle size, stable properties and difficult degradation, they are widely present in various environmental media. Plastic pollution has become one of the major threats to the function of the earth system. The greatest attention to date has been on their potential effect in marine ecosystems. However, a growing number of studies are examining their potential impact on soil ecosystems. In this paper, worldwide research progress on the separation, extraction, identification and ecological impacts of MPs in soil is reviewed. Finally, the development direction of future research on the microplastics is suggested. At present, the separation methods of microplastics in soil mainly include screening method, density separation, and foam flotation. The common strategy is to first identify obvious/possible microplastics with a microscope and then confirm by spectroscopy and thermodynamic methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) or Raman spectroscopies. These methods have some shortcomings, such as time consuming and destroying the structure of microplastics. Appropriate combination and improvement of these methods are expected to make up the deficiency. The ecological impact of microplastics is mainly reflected in the growth, development and reproduction of animals. Furthermore, the presence of microplastics will cause changes in soil physical and chemical parameters, which will change vegetative stage, plant photosynthesis and oxidative stress. In addition, nanoscale microplastics can get across plant’s membranes and cell wall barriers and enriched by plants, and poses an additional risk to humans via trophic food chain transfer. The prospects for future research include: (1) standardized analytical methods; (2) dose-responds relationship of microplastics in soil; (3) the ecological of combination and interaction of microplastics with contaminants.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Microplastics in Agricultural Soil: Detection Techniques, Challenges, Limitation and Future Research Direction - a Review
Researchers review the current methods for detecting microplastics in agricultural soil, comparing techniques like spectroscopy and microscopy while highlighting the limitations of each approach, including false negatives and size-detection constraints. Developing faster, more accurate detection tools is critical because microplastics are accumulating in farmland worldwide and their full impact on soil health and food safety remains poorly understood.
Microplastics' Ecotoxicological Assessment and Quantification in the Soil Ecosystem
This review examines the ecotoxicological effects and quantification methods for microplastics in soil ecosystems, synthesizing studies that have detected microplastics in agricultural soils, remote terrestrial environments, and other soil types to assess risks to soil-dwelling organisms.
Recent advances on ecological effects of microplastics on soil environment
This review summarizes recent advances in understanding the ecological effects of microplastics on soil environments. Researchers found that soils serve as major sinks for microplastics, which can alter soil properties, affect plant growth, disrupt soil microbial communities, and interact with other pollutants. The study highlights that terrestrial microplastic pollution may be even more pervasive than aquatic contamination and warrants greater research attention.
Microplastic: Evaluating the Impact on Soil-Microbes and Plant System
This review examines how microplastics affect soil microbial communities and plant systems in agricultural settings, documenting impacts on soil health, microbial diversity, and crop physiology. As microplastics accumulate in farmland soils through irrigation, sludge application, and plastic mulches, their effects on the soil ecosystem that underpins food production are a growing concern.
Research Progress on Source Analysis, Ecological Effects, and Separation Technology of Soil Microplastics
This review synthesizes recent progress on soil microplastic sources (primarily agricultural plastic mulch and wastewater irrigation), ecological impacts on soil structure and microbial communities, and available separation and detection technologies for assessing contamination.