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Isolation and Identification of Microplastic Particles From Agricultural Soil and Its Detection By Fluorescence Microscope Technique
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Researchers isolated and identified microplastic particles in agricultural soil at different depths using fluorescence microscopy, finding that microplastics are present in terrestrial farm environments and can move vertically through soil profiles — an important finding for food safety and soil health.
The presence of microplastic in environment has been declared as an emerging pollutant. Mostly the reports have determined its presence in marine ecosystem. Limited studies were recorded from the freshwater environment and a very few based on land or soil. Analysing the microplastic contamination in soil will enlighten its impact on terrestrial ecosystem which was the aim of this study. Soil samples from agricultural land were collected from different depths to analyse its movement from surface to the deeper part of soil. Parallel to this study virgin and product plastic types were mixed in soil to calculate recovery rate of plastic particles by Air induced overflow method. FTIR spectroscopy and fluorescence microscope techniques were used for the identification and detection of plastic and its type. Polypropylene (PP) was reported with highest recovery rate of 42% among virgin plastic and among products high density polyethylene (HDPE) appeared to have highest recovery rate of 50%.
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Researchers applied fluorescence microscopy with Nile Red staining to detect and measure microplastic particles in soil samples and validated the method across eight plastic types and a range of soil types. The method performed well when adapted to account for soil matrix effects. Validated fluorescence microscopy protocols make microplastic analysis in agricultural and environmental soils more accessible and standardized.
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Investigation into the Vertical Migration of Microplastic in Agricultural Soil
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Researchers investigated how microplastic particles migrate vertically through agricultural soil profiles, finding that particle size, soil texture, and water flow influence how deeply plastics penetrate. This study highlights agricultural soils as both a sink and a potential pathway for microplastic transport to groundwater.
A cost-effective protocol for detecting fluorescent microplastics in arable soils to study redistribution processes
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Researchers developed a low-cost, chemical-free method to track how microplastics move through agricultural soil and into waterways by using fluorescent plastic particles as tracers and detecting them under ultraviolet light, achieving over 85% recovery accuracy and providing a practical tool for studying plastic pollution transport in farming landscapes.
Microplastics in Agricultural Soil: Detection Techniques, Challenges, Limitation and Future Research Direction - a Review
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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.
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