Bioaccumulation of microplastics in the terrestrial food chain: an example from home gardens in SE Mexico

From Soil to Cell: a Systematic Review of the Trophic Transfer and Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in the Terrestrial Food Web

From Soil to Cell: a Systematic Review of the Trophic Transfer and Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in the Terrestrial Food Web

Microplastics in Terrestrial Ecosystems

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This review assessed microplastic accumulation in terrestrial ecosystems — including agricultural soils, forests, and urban environments — documenting effects on soil structure, earthworm health, plant growth, and microbial diversity driven by decades of dramatic plastic production growth. Because terrestrial environments receive far more microplastic deposition than oceans yet are less studied, the soil contamination documented here directly threatens food production and represents a major underappreciated source of human dietary microplastic exposure through crops and soil-grown produce.

Understanding the sources of microplastics in agroecosystems

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Researchers challenged the widely held assumption that sewage sludge spread on farmland is the primary source of microplastics in agricultural soils, finding that unrecovered agricultural plastics such as mulch films likely contribute far more — suggesting pollution prevention efforts may be misdirected.

Microplastics in Plant Species: Impacts and Ecological Perspectives

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This analysis examined how microplastics affect plant physiology in terrestrial ecosystems, including uptake through roots, translocation into edible tissues, disruption of photosynthesis, and alteration of soil microbial communities that plants depend on. Because many staple crops can absorb and accumulate microplastics from contaminated soil and irrigation water, agricultural microplastic pollution translates directly into human dietary exposure through fruits, vegetables, and grains.