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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Recommendation: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR4
ClearDecision: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR5
This peer review decision evaluates a study asking whether superabsorbent polymers in soil should be classified as a new form of microplastics, given their widespread agricultural use and poorly understood environmental behavior. The review highlights scientific uncertainty around the fate and risks of these synthetic polymer materials.
Review: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR3
This peer review evaluates a paper on whether superabsorbent polymers in soil should be considered a new form of microplastics. The review contributes to the scientific discourse on defining and understanding emerging polymer pollutants in agricultural environments.
Recommendation: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R1/PR7
Researchers examined whether superabsorbent polymers including polyacrylates and polyacrylamides, widely used in agriculture and personal care products, should be classified as a new category of microplastics given that soil weathering may fundamentally alter their chemical properties and environmental behavior.
Review: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR2
This paper asks whether superabsorbent polymers used in agriculture and personal care products could be the next microplastic concern. Like conventional microplastics, synthetic superabsorbent polymers can persist in soils, affect plant and soil organism health, and may need regulatory attention.
Author comment: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R0/PR1
This paper introduces a review examining whether superabsorbent polymers (like those in disposable diapers and agricultural gels) should be considered as a new category of microplastics in soil. Superabsorbent polymers are widespread in consumer products and agriculture, and their environmental fate raises questions similar to those surrounding conventional microplastics.
Author comment: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R1/PR6
This peer review comment examines whether superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) like polyacrylates and polyacrylamides — widely used in agriculture and hygiene products — should be classified as a new category of microplastics given their uncertain environmental fate. The debate highlights significant gaps in understanding how these synthetic polymers break down and accumulate in soil.
Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics?
This review examines whether superabsorbent polymers used in agriculture, personal care products, and construction could become a new form of microplastic pollution in soil. Researchers found that weathering may transform these polymers into solid plastic-like residues over time, though the specific conditions driving this transformation are not yet well understood. The study suggests more research is needed to determine the long-term environmental fate of these widely used materials.
Decision: Superabsorbent polymers in soil: The new microplastics? — R1/PR8
Researchers examined superabsorbent polymers such as polyacrylates and polyacrylamides as a potentially overlooked class of soil plastic pollutants, investigating how weathering in soil changes their intended properties and whether they should be considered a new category of microplastics.
Superabsorbent Polymers: From long-established, microplastics generating systems, to sustainable, biodegradable and future proof alternatives
This review examined how conventional acrylate-based superabsorbent polymers generate microplastics due to their non-biodegradable nature, and assessed emerging biodegradable alternatives that could provide sustainable, future-proof replacements for hygiene and agricultural applications.
Do Microplastics and Nanoplastics Pose Risks to Biota in Agricultural Ecosystems?
This review examines the growing presence of micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soils, estimated at over 0.5 megatons annually. Researchers found that these particles can have varied effects on soil properties, microorganisms, invertebrates, and plants, depending on polymer type, additives, and exposure duration. The study highlights that agricultural soils serve as major reservoirs for plastic pollution and calls for standardized research methods and regulatory guidelines to address the risks to food web safety.
Microplastics in terrestrial environments: Reviewing current understanding to determine the positive and negative aspects of soil
This review examines microplastics in terrestrial soils, covering their sources, distribution, and effects on soil health and organisms. It finds both negative impacts on soil function and organisms, as well as some neutral or context-dependent effects, and identifies key areas for future research.
Unveiling the potency of polymers and their environmental implications: an agricultural perspective
Researchers reviewed the expanding use of synthetic polymers in agriculture — including water-retaining superabsorbent polymers and slow-release coatings — and found that while they boost crop yields and conserve water, they also contribute to soil microplastic pollution over time. The review calls for more research into biodegradable alternatives to reduce the long-term environmental burden of plastic-based farming inputs.
Behavior of microplastics and plastic film residues in the soil environment: A critical review
This critical review examines the behavior and fate of microplastics in soil environments, particularly in agricultural land where plastic mulch films and biosolid applications have left a legacy of contamination. Researchers note that many soils now contain an estimated 50 to 250 kilograms of plastic residue per hectare, but the difficulty of extracting and measuring plastic particles from soil has limited our understanding of the risks. The study calls for improved methods to assess whether soil-borne microplastics can migrate to groundwater, air, and the human food chain.
Microplastics in soils: A review of methods, occurrence, fate, transport, ecological and environmental risks
This review examines the sources, detection methods, and environmental behavior of microplastics in soils, an area that has received far less attention than marine microplastic pollution. Researchers found that microplastics interact with soil properties and organisms in complex ways, potentially entering the human food chain. The study calls for standardized methods and more research into how these tiny plastic particles move through and affect terrestrial ecosystems.
Occurrence and Ecological Impacts of Microplastics in Soil Systems: A Review
This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic occurrence and ecological impacts in soil systems, an area that has received less scientific attention than aquatic environments. Researchers summarized how microplastics enter soils through agricultural films, biosolids, and irrigation, and how they affect soil organisms, nutrient cycling, and plant health. The study predicts a rapid increase in soil microplastic research and calls for standardized methods to assess the risks.
Research of New Pollutant Microplastics in Soil
This review summarizes microplastic pollution in agricultural soils, covering sources, abundance, transport pathways, and interactions with heavy metals and organic pollutants. The authors highlight that soil microplastic contamination is a growing threat to food security and soil ecosystem health.
Transport and transformation of microplastics and nanoplastics in the soil environment: A critical review
This critical review examines how microplastics and nanoplastics move through and transform within soil environments. Researchers discuss aggregation, sorption of contaminants, interactions with soil organisms, and degradation pathways that affect the fate of plastic particles in terrestrial systems. The study identifies major knowledge gaps in understanding subsurface plastic transport and calls for standardized methods to better assess the ecological and health risks of soil plastic pollution.
Superabsorbent Hydrogels in the Agriculture and Reclamation of Degraded Areas
This review examines superabsorbent hydrogels, polymer materials that can absorb hundreds of times their weight in water, and their use in agriculture and land restoration. Researchers found that while these materials can significantly improve soil water retention and crop yields, concerns remain about chemical leaching and potential microplastic generation as they degrade. The study suggests that more research is needed on the long-term environmental safety of synthetic hydrogels in soil.
Microplastic in Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Soil?
This review examined the occurrence and behavior of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems and soils, questioning how particles move through and accumulate in soils and calling for more research on land-based microplastic impacts.
Origin, Occurrence and Threats of Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: A Comprehensive Review
This comprehensive review examines how microplastics enter and accumulate in agricultural soils through plastic mulch films, sewage sludge, and fertilizers. Researchers found that polypropylene and polyethylene are the dominant polymers in farmland soils, and that microplastics negatively affect soil microbial communities, harm soil invertebrates, and can induce oxidative stress and cell damage in plants.
Existence and fate of microplastics in terrestrial environment: A global fretfulness and abatement strategies
This review covers the global spread of microplastics in soils, farmland, and other land environments, finding contamination from sources like sewage sludge, plastic mulch, and irrigation water. The study highlights that terrestrial microplastic pollution may actually be greater than marine pollution and poses risks to soil organisms, crop growth, and human health through the food chain.
Environmental fate and impacts of microplastics in soil ecosystems: Progress and perspective
This review summarized knowledge on microplastics in soil environments, covering occurrence across agricultural, industrial, and urban soils, transport pathways, and ecological risks to soil organisms and plant communities. The authors identify key data gaps and methodological challenges that currently limit understanding of microplastic fate and impact in terrestrial systems.
Biodegradable Polyesters in Soil - Real Environmental Hazard or Just a Storm in a Teacup?
This review critically examines whether biodegradable polyesters genuinely degrade in soil environments, finding that under field conditions many degrade slowly and incompletely, forming persistent microplastic particles ('microbioplastics') with largely unknown ecological consequences.
Microplastics in agricultural soils: a new challenge not only for agro-environmental policy?
This review addresses microplastic pollution in agricultural soils, identifying farming practices like mulching and sludge application as significant sources and discussing potential impacts on soil health and food safety. It calls for both policy action and more research on microplastic behavior in terrestrial environments.