Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Soil erosion as transport pathway of microplastic from agriculture soils to aquatic ecosystems

Researchers simulated heavy rainfall events on agricultural soils containing microplastics and tracked particle transport through runoff and erosion, finding that soil erosion is a significant pathway for moving agricultural microplastics into adjacent water bodies, with particle size and shape governing transport distance.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 166 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil erosion is a major drive for nano & micro-plastics to enter riverine systems from cultivated land.

A study quantifying how soil erosion transports nano and microplastics from cultivated land into rivers found that erosion is a major pathway for plastic transfer to aquatic systems, with plastic flux closely linked to soil loss rates and land management practices.

2024 Water research
Article Tier 2

Model-based analysis of erosion-induced microplastic delivery from arable land to the stream network of a mesoscale catchment

Researchers developed the first catchment-scale model estimating how much microplastic is transported from farmland soils into stream networks through soil erosion. The study found that erosion can be a significant pathway for moving microplastics from agricultural fields into rivers, with implications for downstream water quality.

2023 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Model-based analysis of erosion-induced microplastic delivery from arable land to the stream network of a mesoscale catchment

Researchers applied a model-based analysis to quantify how erosion transports microplastics from agricultural land to the stream network of a mesoscale catchment, finding that surface runoff and soil erosion are significant pathways for microplastic delivery to inland waters.

2024 SOIL 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Quantifying the movement of microplastics in soil in response to overland flow and splash erosion

Researchers quantified how overland flow and raindrop splash erosion mobilize and transport microplastics from soil surfaces. Both processes moved microplastic particles, with splash being particularly effective at short distances and overland flow dominating transport over larger areas. Understanding these erosion-driven transport processes is important for predicting how microplastics move from agricultural fields into streams and rivers.

2023
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in agricultural soils from a semi-arid region and their transport by wind erosion

Researchers found microplastics heterogeneously distributed in agricultural soils from semi-arid Iran, with plastic-mulched and wastewater-irrigated fields both contaminated, and demonstrated that wind erosion can transport microplastics from soil surfaces to new locations.

2022 Environmental Research 101 citations
Article Tier 2

Catchment-scale mechanistic predictions of microplastic transport and distribution across land and water

Researchers developed the first catchment-scale model successfully predicting microplastic transport from land to water, validated against field data, revealing how soil accumulation, runoff dynamics, and in-stream transport interact to determine where microplastics concentrate before reaching the ocean.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

The spatio-temporal variability of soil microplastic distribution and erosion-induced microplastic export under extreme rainfall event using sediment fingerprinting and 7Be in intensive agricultural catchment

Researchers tracked how soil erosion during extreme rainfall events transports microplastics from agricultural land into waterways at the catchment scale. Microplastic abundance in soil peaked during certain seasons and was highest in cropland converted from forest, with most particles smaller than 500 micrometers. Using sediment fingerprinting and beryllium-7 tracing, the study estimated substantial microplastic export loads, showing that agricultural erosion is a significant pathway for microplastic pollution in water bodies.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Horizontal transport of macro- and microplastics on soil surface by rainfall induced surface runoff as affected by vegetations

Researchers investigated how rainfall-induced surface runoff transports macro- and microplastics across soil surfaces, finding that vegetation cover significantly reduces plastic transport while plastic size, density, and rainfall intensity also influence horizontal movement.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 104 citations
Article Tier 2

Wind erosion as a driver for transport of light density microplastics

Researchers investigated wind erosion as a transport mechanism for microplastics across different land uses in Iran and found that wind-eroded sediments contained significant quantities of light-density microplastic particles. Agricultural and barren lands showed higher microplastic concentrations in wind-eroded material. The study identifies wind as an important but overlooked pathway for spreading microplastic contamination across landscapes.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 417 citations
Article Tier 2

Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in soils with different agricultural practices: Importance of sources with internal origin and environmental fate

Microplastic abundance and characteristics were examined in soils representing four agricultural practice types in Chinese farmland to evaluate the influence of land use on plastic particle accumulation. Microplastic concentrations and polymer types varied by agricultural practice, with plastic mulch film use and irrigation water source as key drivers of farmland soil contamination.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 282 citations
Article Tier 2

Reply on RC1

This study provides the first estimates of how much microplastic is delivered from agricultural soils to freshwater systems through surface runoff and erosion. Soil erosion events can mobilize accumulated microplastics from farmland into rivers, representing a significant and previously underestimated transport pathway.

2023
Article Tier 2

Quantifying soil surface erosion

This study quantified soil surface erosion rates using a combination of field measurements and modeling, examining how land use, vegetation cover, and rainfall intensity interact to drive soil loss. The findings provide improved estimates for erosion-driven microplastic transport in agricultural landscapes.

2024 Comptes Rendus Physique 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of microplastics on small-scale soil surface roughness and implications for wind transport of microplastic particles

Researchers investigated how microplastics mixed into soil affect surface roughness at small scales, finding that microplastics altered surface texture in ways that could increase soil susceptibility to wind erosion and promote atmospheric transport of microplastic particles.

2025 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences 2 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

Horizontal transport characteristics of microplastics under simulated hydrodynamic conditions

Researchers systematically investigated the horizontal transport of microplastics across soil surfaces under simulated hydrodynamic conditions using 1 µm polystyrene particles and quartz sand. The study identified surface runoff scouring as a key pathway by which microplastics are mobilized and distributed laterally through terrestrial environments.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

A numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition for fluvial systems

Researchers developed a numerical model of microplastic erosion, transport, and deposition in river systems, finding that rivers act as temporary sinks trapping significant fractions of MPs before they reach the ocean, with implications for estimating marine MP loading from terrestrial sources.

2025 Earth Surface Dynamics 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Response of microplastic occurrence and migration to heavy rainstorm in agricultural catchment on the Loess plateau

Researchers investigated how heavy rainstorm events affect microplastic occurrence and distribution in an agricultural catchment on the Loess Plateau, finding that rainstorms mobilized microplastics from soil into runoff, with 81.6% of particles smaller than 0.5 mm. Storm-driven transport is identified as an important pathway for moving microplastics from agricultural soils into aquatic systems.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Missing relationship between meso- and microplastics in adjacent soils and sediments

A survey of soils and sediments across a large Chinese watershed found that mesoplastic and microplastic concentrations did not correlate between adjacent terrestrial and aquatic compartments, indicating that transfer between land and water is not simply proportional and that local factors including land use and hydrology strongly mediate transport.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Simulating microplastics temporal dynamics, driving mechanisms and giving insights on sources

Researchers developed a watershed-scale model to simulate temporal dynamics of microplastic concentrations across air, soil, and water compartments, incorporating land use, hydrology, and seasonal variation. The model reproduced observed patterns in a French river catchment and identified agricultural soils as the dominant terrestrial source to receiving waters.

2025
Article Tier 2

Influence of polymer age and soil aggregation on microplastic transport in soil erosion events

Researchers compared the transport rates of pristine and aged polystyrene microplastics during simulated rainfall events and quantified their incorporation into soil aggregates across multiple wet-dry cycles, providing the first empirical data on how surface roughness and hydrophobicity changes from weathering affect MP mobility in soil erosion.

2024
Article Tier 2

Horizontal and vertical mobilisation of microplastics in agricultural soils: run-off and infiltration experiments

Researchers measured the horizontal runoff and vertical leaching of microplastics from agricultural mulching films in field plots, quantifying transport under simulated rainfall. Both transport pathways were significant, with particle size and soil properties influencing how far microplastics moved from their source.

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

Soil contamination by microplastics in a small French agricultural watershed

Researchers characterized microplastic contamination in agricultural soils across a small French watershed, examining how various farming practices influence microplastic sources, distribution, and fate in soil environments outside of previously studied regions like China.

2025 Environmental Pollution
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