Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Impact of land cover on microplastics accumulation in freshwater sediments

Researchers tracked microplastic accumulation in freshwater sediments across sites with different land cover types, examining temporal trends to understand how land use affects plastic discharge into waterways. Land cover type was a significant predictor of sediment microplastic concentration, with urbanized and agricultural catchments showing higher accumulation.

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

Population density and agricultural land cover influence microplastic concentrations in river sediments

Researchers measured microplastic concentrations in river sediments across nine Mid-Atlantic US watersheds and compared findings from 18 countries, finding no consistent longitudinal trend from headwaters to downstream reaches, but identifying population density and agricultural land cover as significant positive predictors of MP accumulation at a global scale.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution differences in freshwater river according to stream order: Insights from spatial distribution, annual load, and ecological assessment

Researchers compared microplastic pollution levels in a freshwater river across different land-use zones, finding higher concentrations near urban and agricultural areas than in forested regions. Fiber-type microplastics were predominant across all sampling locations.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Decadal changes in microplastic accumulation in freshwater sediments: Evaluating influencing factors

Researchers analyzed decadal trends in microplastic accumulation using freshwater sediment cores, examining how land use, hydrological factors, and global plastic production influenced deposition over time. Microplastic concentrations increased consistently across cores, with local factors modulating the rate of accumulation at individual sites.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Contribution of different land use catchments on the microplastic pollution in detention basin sediments

Researchers measured microplastic pollution in detention basin sediments receiving runoff from catchments with different land uses — residential, commercial, and industrial — finding that industrial catchments contributed the highest microplastic loads. Particle morphology differed by land use type, with industrial sites associated with more fragments and commercial areas with more fibres.

2024 Environmental Pollution 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and anthropogenic fibre concentrations in lakes reflect surrounding land use

A survey of lakes across multiple land-use types found that microplastic and anthropogenic fiber concentrations reflected the intensity of surrounding human activity, with urban and agricultural catchments accumulating more particles than forested ones, and long water retention times allowing particles to concentrate over time.

2021 PLoS Biology 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Associations between microplastic pollution and land use in urban wetland sediments

This study examined microplastic pollution in urban wetlands and found that land use patterns -- particularly the proportion of impervious surfaces and proximity to urban infrastructure -- strongly predicted microplastic concentrations in wetland sediments.

2019 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 165 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic distribution and their abundance along rivers are determined by land uses and sediment granulometry

Researchers studied two river watersheds and found that microplastics were widespread in both water and sediment, with concentrations in water rising alongside increased urban land use. Interestingly, microplastics trapped in sediment were more influenced by the grain size of the riverbed than by human activity. The findings suggest that both human factors and natural river characteristics work together to shape where microplastics end up in freshwater systems.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Variability of microplastic loading and retention in four inland lakes in Minnesota, USA

Researchers measured microplastic levels in four small lakes in Minnesota and found that watershed size and urban development were the biggest factors driving contamination. Surface water concentrations varied widely, and sediment levels did not directly correlate with what was found in the water above. The study highlights how local land use patterns influence where microplastics end up in freshwater ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Pollution 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic distribution and characteristics across a large river basin: Insights from the Neuse River in North Carolina, USA

Researchers characterized microplastic distribution across the Neuse River Basin in North Carolina, finding microplastics in both water and sediment at all sampling locations, with concentrations influenced by land use and proximity to urban areas.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of land use on the distribution of soil microplastics in the Lihe River watershed, China

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination across five different land use types in a Chinese river watershed. They found that urban soils had the highest microplastic levels, followed by agricultural areas, with woodland having the lowest, and that population density strongly correlated with microplastic diversity. The study suggests that human activity intensity and plastic waste disposal are the main drivers of soil microplastic pollution at the watershed scale.

2023 Chemosphere 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial and temporal variations of microplastic concentrations in Portland's freshwater ecosystems

Microplastic concentrations were monitored across Portland's urban freshwater ecosystems, revealing that land use, stormwater inputs, and seasonal variation all influenced plastic levels in rivers and streams. The study found that urban catchments with higher impervious surfaces consistently showed elevated microplastic concentrations.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio and temporal dynamics of microplastic fluxes within the watercourses of a peri-urban watershed

Researchers tracked the spatiotemporal dynamics of microplastic fluxes within a river catchment over time, linking plastic transport patterns to land use activities. The study found that land use type is a key driver of when and how much microplastic enters and moves through watercourses.

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

Estimating microplastic flows across rural-urban gradients in a French catchment

Researchers estimated microplastic flows across rural-urban gradients in a French catchment, examining how land use and urbanization influence the transport and distribution of microplastic particles through the watershed system.

2025 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in urban freshwater sediments: A descriptive assessment of land-use categories

A study of stormwater retention ponds across different urban land uses in an unspecified city found that microplastic concentrations in pond sediments varied by land type, with levels linked to the surrounding activities such as residential, educational, and mixed-use development. Using Nile red fluorescence staining for identification, the research maps how urban stormwater systems accumulate microplastics and highlights these ponds as overlooked pollution hotspots. Understanding which land uses drive the most contamination can help target urban plastic management interventions.

2026 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Land Use and Rainfall as Drivers of Microplastic Transport in Canal Systems: A Case Study from Upstate New York

Researchers investigated microplastic contamination across a canal system in upstate New York, examining how land use and rainfall patterns influence microplastic abundance, distribution, and characteristics. They found significant land-use-dependent variation in contamination, with mean water column concentrations of 17 items/L, and that rainfall events mobilized microplastics differently across agricultural, residential, and impervious-surface sites.

2025 Microplastics
Article Tier 2

Integrating land cover, point source pollution, and watershed hydrologic processes data to understand the distribution of microplastics in riverbed sediments

Researchers sampled riverbed sediments across the Meramec River watershed in Missouri and applied hydrological modelling to assess which factors best predict benthic microplastic distribution, finding that land cover and point source pollution variables outperformed discharge and sediment load in explaining spatial patterns, highlighting the dominance of anthropogenic sources over transport dynamics.

2022 Environmental Pollution 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinct microplastic patterns in the sediment and biota of an urban stream

Researchers found distinct microplastic contamination patterns between sediments and aquatic biota in an urban stream, with sediments accumulating more particles while biota showed selective uptake based on particle size and shape, highlighting the complex dynamics of microplastic distribution in urban freshwater systems.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio and temporal dynamics of microplastic fluxes within the watercourses of a peri-urban watershed

Researchers tracked spatial and temporal microplastic flux dynamics in the watercourses of a small peri-urban catchment, examining how different land use types within the watershed contribute to plastic loading in connected streams. Land use strongly influenced microplastic flux, with urbanized and agricultural sub-catchments contributing proportionally more plastic particles to the waterway network.

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

Microplastic Transport and Accumulation in Rural Waterbodies: Insights from a Small Catchment in East China

Microplastics were sampled from drainage ditch sediments across forest, agricultural, horticultural, and urban areas in a Nanjing catchment, finding 922 MP particles of six dominant polymer types with concentrations varying by land use and pond connectivity within the catchment.

2024 Toxics 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of drainage infrastructure and land use on microplastic contamination in urban watersheds

This field study compared how different types of urban stormwater infrastructure — surface drains versus piped outfalls — contribute to microplastic contamination in streams across two watersheds with contrasting land uses (agricultural/forested versus residential/commercial). Microplastic concentrations and types differed between drainage types and land uses, with developed areas contributing more plastic particles overall. The findings point to stormwater infrastructure design as a lever for reducing the flow of microplastics from cities into freshwater ecosystems.

2025 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Modelling land use influence on polymer-specific microplastics abundance and transportation from terrestrial to aquatic environments

Researchers developed a model to understand how land use patterns influence the abundance and transport of specific microplastic polymers from land into waterways. The study found that different land uses contribute distinct polymer types to the environment, providing evidence that targeted land management strategies could help reduce microplastic pollution in aquatic systems.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Revealing the role of land-use features on macrolitter distribution in Swiss freshwaters.

Analysis of macrolitter on Swiss riverbanks and lake shores showed that land-use patterns — particularly urban areas and agricultural land — were key predictors of litter abundance. The findings highlight the importance of land management and waste infrastructure in preventing plastic and other litter from entering freshwater systems and ultimately reaching the ocean.

2024 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Characterization of microplastics accumulated in sediments of stormwater detention basins, in relation to the land use patterns in the contributing catchment.

Microplastics in stormwater detention basin sediments were characterized and linked to surrounding land use, with roads and residential areas contributing the highest concentrations and most diverse plastic types.

2023