Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Plastic Debrisin Agroecosystems: Distribution andAbundance Patterns, and Relationship with Terrain Characteristicsin Southeastern Brazil

Researchers surveyed plastic debris across forest, grassland, and agricultural land in a Southeast Brazil sub-basin, finding that agricultural areas accounted for 91.2% of total plastic waste with polypropylene, polyethylene, and PVC comprising 82.6% of polymers detected. Distribution strongly correlated with terrain characteristics, particularly slope and vegetation cover.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Assessment of Soil Microplastics and Their Relation to Soil and Terrain Attributes Under Different Land Uses

Researchers assessed microplastic contamination in tropical soils under different land uses including forest, grassland, and agricultural areas. They found that agricultural soils had the highest microplastic concentrations, likely due to the use of plastic-based materials in farming. The study reveals how land use practices and soil characteristics influence the distribution and accumulation of microplastics in tropical environments.

2025 AgriEngineering 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Macro and microplastics in the soil: abundance, characterization, identification, and interactions under different land uses in an agricultural sub-basin

Researchers examined the abundance, characterization, identification, and interactions of macro- and microplastics in soils under different land uses within an agricultural sub-basin, assessing how land-use patterns influence plastic pollution distribution and potential interactions with the soil environment.

2025 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Distribution pattern and risk assessment of microplastics contamination in different agricultural systems

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in agricultural soils across six sites in Coimbatore, India with distinct farming practices, finding microplastics in 81% of organic matter-removed samples. The study revealed that different agronomic inputs and land management practices produce distinct microplastic contamination profiles.

2024 International Journal of Environmental & Analytical Chemistry 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic appraisal of soil, water, ditch sediment and airborne dust: The case of agricultural systems

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination across agricultural soils, water, airborne dust, and ditch sediments in farm settings with different management practices. They found 11 types of microplastics in soil, with the highest concentrations in fields using plastic mulch, and documented the spread of particles into nearby water bodies and air. The study reveals that both plastic mulch and compost application contribute to microplastic pollution in agricultural landscapes.

2022 Environmental Pollution 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Prevalence of microplastics in agricultural soils in southern Portugal

Researchers conducted the first survey of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils from southern Portugal, collecting samples across four land-use areas with different farming practices and characterizing polymer types and their associations with agricultural history in a Mediterranean system.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Prevalence of microplastics in agricultural soils in southern Portugal

Researchers conducted the first survey of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils from southern Portugal, collecting samples across four land-use areas with different farming practices and characterizing polymer types and their associations with agricultural history in a Mediterranean system.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Assessing the impacts of land use and land cover on occurrence, spatial distribution of microplastics and heavy metals in an agricultural watershed, Tadepalligudem, Andhra Pradesh, India

Researchers mapped the occurrence and spatial distribution of microplastics and heavy metals in agricultural runoff from a watershed in Andhra Pradesh, India. They found an average of 41.7 microplastic items per liter, dominated by polypropylene and polyethylene fibers, with heavy metal concentrations of cadmium, arsenic, chromium, and lead posing varying levels of health risk. The study highlights that land use patterns significantly influence both microplastic and heavy metal contamination in agricultural water systems.

2026 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Impact of land-use patterns on soil microplastics: Distribution characteristics and driving factors in southern China’s Pearl River Delta

A study across different land-use types in China's Pearl River Delta found that agricultural land had higher soil microplastic concentrations than urban or forested areas, with land-use history and plastic mulch film use as the dominant factors controlling MP distribution and polymer composition.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Amount, distribution and composition of large microplastics in typical agricultural soils in Northern Germany

Researchers surveyed agricultural soils in Northern Germany for large microplastics and found contamination across all sampled fields, with polyethylene and polypropylene being the most common polymer types. Concentrations varied widely depending on farming practices, with fields receiving compost and sewage sludge showing higher contamination levels. The study provides important baseline data on microplastic pollution in European agricultural soils and identifies fertilization practices as a key contamination pathway.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 211 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact assessment of microplastics in agricultural soils of the Euroregion Galicia and Minho: preliminary results

Researchers assessed the impact of microplastic pollution on agricultural soils in the Euroregion Galicia-Norte Portugal, examining contamination levels across farmland as plastic use in agriculture intensifies globally. Microplastics were detected across sampled fields, with levels and types reflecting regional agricultural practices and plastic inputs.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution modulated by farming regimes under multi-scenarios

Microplastic concentrations in agricultural soils were found to vary with farming regimes, with certain practices under mulching leading to higher accumulation. The study highlights how common agricultural methods contribute to soil microplastic pollution and supports calls for better plastic mulch management.

2025 iScience 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic diversity, risks and soil impacts: A multi-metric assessment across land-use systems

Researchers surveyed microplastic abundance, polymer diversity, and ecological risk across seven land-use types in India's Brahmaputra Valley, finding that built-up areas had the highest particle counts while forest soils paradoxically showed the greatest polymer hazard scores due to high-risk polymers, and that land-use type shapes both the quantity and composition of soil microplastic contamination.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of soil properties and land use patterns on the distribution of microplastics: A case study in southwest China

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in soils across different land use types in Guizhou Province, southwest China. The study found that soil properties and land use patterns significantly influence microplastic abundance and distribution, with agricultural and urban soils generally showing higher contamination levels than less intensively managed areas.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Agronomic practices and road proximity drive plastic pollution in agricultural soils: Insights from Bihar, India on weathering, elemental association, and ecological risk

Researchers surveyed 22 agricultural sites in Bihar, India, measuring microplastic contamination in soil across different farming practices and road distances. Mulched fields near roads had the highest concentrations (up to 1,460 particles/kg), while PE and PP polymers dominated, and microplastics were found to adsorb multiple heavy metals including lead, arsenic, and cadmium.

2025 Environmental Pollution 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Identifying hot-spots for microplastic contamination in agricultural soils—a spatial modelling approach for Germany

A spatial model was developed to identify hotspots of microplastic contamination in German agricultural soils based on plastic use in farming, sewage sludge application rates, and atmospheric deposition estimates, predicting that certain intensively farmed regions accumulate substantially more plastic than previously estimated from limited field studies.

2021 Environmental Research Letters 60 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantification and analysis of surface macroplastic contamination on arable areas

Researchers quantified macroplastic contamination on German farmland, finding that fields fertilized with compost had 42 times more plastic particles per hectare than unfertilized fields, indicating that compost application and roadside littering are major pathways for plastic entering agricultural soils.

2021 Journal of Soils and Sediments 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Management of agricultural plastic waste in Portugal to prevent microplastics

Researchers examined the management of agricultural plastic waste in Portugal, assessing how mismanagement of plastics used in farming has led to soil contamination with microplastics and identifying practices that reduce plastic fragmentation and environmental release. The study found gaps between best practices and actual farm-level waste management that result in preventable plastic accumulation in agricultural soils.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Abundance, spatial distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in agricultural soils and their relationship with contributing factors

Researchers found microplastic concentrations of 2,800 to 82,500 particles per kilogram in agricultural soils of Hainan Island, China, with plastic mulching, farming practices, and environmental factors all contributing to spatial variation in contamination levels.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Meso- and microplastic composition, distribution patterns and drivers: A snapshot of plastic pollution on Brazilian beaches

A standardized survey of plastic pollution across 22 sandy beaches spanning over 4600 km of Brazilian coast found widespread contamination in coastal sediments, with polymer type, size, and distribution patterns reflecting diverse sources including fishing activity and urban runoff.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Significant influence of land use types and anthropogenic activities on the distribution of microplastics in soil: A case from a typical mining-agricultural city

Scientists surveyed microplastic pollution across five types of land in a Chinese mining-agricultural city and found the highest levels in greenhouse farmland, with nearly 3,738 particles per kilogram of soil. Agricultural plastic waste, irrigation water, and fertilizers were identified as the main sources of contamination. The study shows that farming practices are major contributors to microplastic buildup in the soil that produces our food.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 54 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of plastic film mulching on microplastic in farmland soils in Guangdong province, China

Researchers surveyed farmland in Guangdong, China's largest economic province, to determine how much plastic mulch film contributes to soil microplastic pollution. They found that fields using plastic mulch had significantly higher microplastic levels than those without, and the contamination correlated with years of mulch use. The study helps clarify the direct agricultural contribution to soil microplastic pollution in regions with many overlapping pollution sources.

2023 Heliyon 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinct microplastic distributions in soils of different land-use types: A case study of Chinese farmlands

Microplastic distribution across six types of farmland land use was surveyed from soils in five Chinese provinces to determine how agricultural practices shape soil microplastic contamination. The study found that microplastic abundance varied significantly by land-use type, with plastic mulch film use and irrigation practices as key contributing factors.

2020 Environmental Pollution 278 citations
Article Tier 2

A nationwide assessment of microplastic abundance in agricultural soils: The influence of plastic crop covers within the United Kingdom

A nationwide study of 108 agricultural sites across the United Kingdom found microplastics in all soil samples, with concentrations averaging 3,680 particles per kilogram. Fields where plastic crop covers were used had significantly higher microplastic levels than those without plastic covers. This study shows that common agricultural plastic use is a major source of soil microplastic contamination, which could ultimately affect crop quality and enter the food chain.

2023 Plants People Planet 51 citations