Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on transport of non-degradable agricultural film microplastics

Researchers investigated how neonicotinoid insecticides adsorb onto agricultural film microplastics and affect their transport through porous media, finding that neonicotinoids altered microplastic mobility in ways that could influence contaminant spread in farmland soils.

2023 Water Research 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Processes controlling the transportation of microplastics in agricultural soils

Researchers investigated the physical processes controlling microplastic transport through agricultural soils, examining how soil structure, water flow, bioturbation, and particle properties interact to move microplastics from surface application sites deeper into the soil profile or laterally toward aquatic systems. The study addressed the dual role of agricultural soils as both sinks and potential sources of microplastic pollution to surrounding environments.

2022
Article Tier 2

Root traits and rhizosphere responses as emerging bioindicators of microplastic pollution in agricultural soils: A review

This review examines how microplastic pollution in agricultural soils disrupts root growth, nutrient uptake, and the beneficial interactions between plant roots and soil microbes. Researchers found that microplastics can alter root exudation patterns, change soil structure, and shift microbial communities around roots in ways that may impair crop productivity. The study proposes that root traits and rhizosphere responses could serve as early warning indicators of microplastic contamination in farmland.

2026 Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro- and nanoplastics retention in porous media exhibits different dependence on grain surface roughness and clay coating with particle size

Researchers found that grain surface roughness and clay coatings affect the retention of microplastics and nanoplastics in porous media differently depending on particle size, with nanoplastics behaving oppositely to microplastics in certain soil conditions — complicating predictions of plastic transport in groundwater systems.

2022 Water Research 38 citations
Article Tier 2

The individual transport, cotransport and immobilization with solar pyrolysis biochar of microplastics and plasticizer in sandy soil

Researchers tracked the individual transport, co-transport, and immobilization of microplastics in porous media, finding that plastic particle behavior differs significantly depending on surface charge and pore structure interactions. The results improve predictions of where microplastics migrate and accumulate in soils and aquifers.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics transport in soils: A critical review

Researchers reviewed how microplastics move through soil, finding that their transport depends on a complex mix of particle properties, soil chemistry, water flow, and biological activity — and that these factors often interact in ways that produce contradictory results across studies. The review maps these knowledge gaps and calls for more controlled experiments to predict where microplastics accumulate and how they might reach groundwater or crops.

2025 Earth-Science Reviews 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Transport of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics under the action of agricultural chemicals: Role of pesticide adjuvants and neonicotinoid active ingredients

Column experiments showed that pesticide adjuvants (surfactants) and neonicotinoid active ingredients both influenced the transport of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics through saturated porous media, with surfactants generally enhancing mobility.

2024 Environmental Research 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of biosurfactants on the transport of polyethylene microplastics in saturated porous media

This study examined how biosurfactants -- surface-active compounds produced by microorganisms -- affect the transport of polyethylene microplastics through saturated porous media. Biosurfactants altered microplastic surface charge and mobility, generally enhancing transport through soil-like media, with implications for assessing the risk of microplastic groundwater contamination following soil remediation treatments.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and nanoplastics barely enhance contaminant mobility in agricultural soils

A mesocosm study found that micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soils had minimal effect on the mobility of sorbed organic contaminants toward deeper soil layers, suggesting that concerns about plastics significantly enhancing contaminant transport to groundwater may be overstated under typical field conditions.

2021 Communications Earth & Environment 77 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics/nanoplastics in porous media: Key factors controlling their transport and retention behaviors

This review examines what controls how microplastics and nanoplastics move through soil and other porous materials like sand and sediment. Factors like particle size, shape, surface charge, water flow speed, and the presence of other pollutants all influence whether plastics stay in place or travel deeper into groundwater. Understanding these transport behaviors is important for assessing the risk of microplastics contaminating underground drinking water sources.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how particle properties influence movement through porous media. The study aimed to improve understanding of subsurface microplastic fate and transport relevant to both soil and groundwater contamination.

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

Transport behavior of micro polyethylene particles in saturated quartz sand: Impacts of input concentration and physicochemical factors

Laboratory sand column experiments showed that polyethylene microplastic transport is inhibited by high ionic strength (as it reduces the repulsion between particles and sand grains) but enhanced by fulvic acid (which increases surface charge repulsion). The study provides mechanistic data for predicting how microplastics move through soils under different environmental chemical conditions.

2020 Environmental Pollution 153 citations
Article Tier 2

Behavior of Microplastics and Nanoplasticsin Farmland Soil Environment and Mechanismsof Interaction with Plants

This review summarizes how microplastics and nanoplastics behave in farmland soil and how they interact with crop plants. Nanoplastics are especially concerning because they can travel through plant roots and move via internal transport systems to reach leaves, fruits, and even seeds. The review highlights that microplastic-contaminated soil could lead to plastic particles entering the human food chain through the crops we eat, though more long-term studies are needed to fully understand the risks.

2024 Polish Journal of Environmental Studies 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Decreased transport of nano- and micro-plastics in the presence of low-molecular-weight organic acids in saturated quartz sand.

Laboratory experiments showed that common organic acids found in soil — citric, malic, and tartaric acid — significantly reduced the movement of polystyrene nano- and microplastics through saturated sand. This finding suggests that soil organic chemistry influences how microplastics migrate toward groundwater, which has implications for drinking water contamination in agricultural areas.

2024 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into the effects of micro- and nano-plastics on cherry radish physiology and organic compound distribution at the soil-root interface.

Researchers exposed cherry radish to polyethylene microplastics (2 µm) and nanoplastics (200 nm) at varying concentrations and measured effects on plant physiology and organic compound distribution at the soil-root interface. Smaller nanoplastic particles caused greater disruption to root exudate chemistry and plant metabolism than the larger microplastics, pointing to a size-dependent toxicity mechanism.

2026 Plant physiology and biochemistry : PPB
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Soil–Plant Systems: Current Knowledge, Research Gaps, and Future Directions for Agricultural Sustainability

This review summarizes current knowledge about how microplastics affect agricultural soils and the plants growing in them, including changes to soil structure, nutrient availability, and root zone biology. Understanding how microplastics move through the soil-plant system is critical because contaminated crops are a major pathway for these particles to reach the human diet.

2025 Agronomy 19 citations
Article Tier 2

A new quantitative insight: Interaction of polyethylene microplastics with soil - microbiome - crop

Researchers developed a new method to track and measure how polyethylene microplastics move through soil and into crops, and for the first time demonstrated that micron-sized particles can accumulate in plant tissues, with the highest concentrations found in roots. Weathered microplastics significantly reduced soil nutrients and inhibited plant growth in maize, while fresh microplastics had different effects on soil chemistry. The findings suggest that aging microplastics in agricultural soil may pose a greater risk to crop productivity than previously understood.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Tiny pollutants, big consequences: investigating the influence of nano- and microplastics on soil properties and plant health with mitigation strategies

Researchers reviewed the impact of nanoplastics and microplastics on soil properties and plant health, examining absorption and translocation mechanisms in plants. The study suggests that plastic particles alter soil structure and microbial communities, impair plant growth and nutrient uptake, and proposes mitigation strategies to address these emerging threats to agricultural ecosystems.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behavior and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how physical and chemical properties of microplastic particles influence their mobility through porous geological media. The study addressed knowledge gaps in understanding subsurface microplastic transport relevant to groundwater contamination and the fate of microplastics deposited in terrestrial environments.

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

Transport and deposition of microplastic particles in saturated porous media: Co-effects of clay particles and natural organic matter

Researchers performed column experiments to study how clay particles and natural organic matter affect microplastic transport through saturated porous media, finding that both colloids reduced MP mobility through heteroaggregation and that their combined presence produced the greatest reduction in transport.

2021 Environmental Pollution 124 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanisms and Influencing Factors Making Agricultural Soil as a Sink for Microplastics

This review examines the mechanisms by which agricultural soils act as sinks for microplastics, analyzing how soil properties, land management practices, and MP characteristics determine retention versus transport of plastic particles in the terrestrial environment.

2025
Article Tier 2

Micro/nanoplastics: a potential threat to crops

This review examines micro- and nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soil and water, summarizing sources, adsorption onto microplastics, uptake pathways into crops, effects on plant growth and physiology, and current detection and removal approaches, while highlighting the limited data on nanoplastic transport in plants.

2023 Vegetable Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Plant-driven strategies for mitigating microplastic pollution in agricultural ecosystems

Researchers review how microplastics damage agricultural soils and crops — disrupting soil structure, starving plants of nutrients, and triggering oxidative stress — and explore plant- and microbe-based strategies like root-associated bacteria and biochar amendments as promising but underexplored tools for cleaning up plastic-contaminated farmland.

2025 Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances
Article Tier 2

Deposition and in-situ translocation of microplastics in floodplain soils

This study examined how microplastics deposit and move through floodplain soils during flooding events, finding that floods both deposit and redistribute microplastics in agricultural and riparian soils. The findings help explain how microplastic pollution spreads from rivers into surrounding terrestrial environments.

2021 10 citations