Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Non-negligible impact of microplastics on wetland ecosystems

This review examines microplastic pollution in wetland ecosystems, which sit between land and water and act as natural filters. Microplastics in wetlands come from sewage, agricultural runoff, and atmospheric deposition, with polyethylene and polypropylene fibers and fragments being the most common types found. The paper highlights that microplastics can harm wetland plants, animals, and microbes, and may even increase greenhouse gas emissions by serving as an unusual carbon source for soil microorganisms.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Source, fate, toxicity, and remediation of micro-plastic in wetlands: A critical review

Researchers reviewed how microplastics enter, accumulate in, and damage natural wetlands — ecosystems that filter water and support biodiversity — finding that while wetlands may actually trap plastic particles like a sink, the resulting contamination poses serious ecological risks that are still poorly understood.

2024 Watershed Ecology and the Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

From source to sink: Review and prospects of microplastics in wetland ecosystems

This review synthesizes sources, distribution pathways, migration, and fate of microplastics in wetland ecosystems, which occupy the boundary zone between aquatic and terrestrial environments. It identifies wetlands as both important sinks and potential secondary sources of microplastics and calls for more research on microplastic dynamics in these transitional habitats.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 162 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on microplastics pollution in coastal wetlands

Researchers reviewed existing studies on microplastic pollution in coastal wetlands — ecosystems like mangroves, salt marshes, and tidal flats — summarizing where microplastics accumulate, how they get there, and how they affect wildlife and ecosystem function. These habitats are especially vulnerable because they sit at the boundary between land and sea, trapping plastics carried by both rivers and ocean tides.

2022 Watershed Ecology and the Environment 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Research progresses of microplastic pollution in freshwater systems

This review examines the widespread presence of microplastics in freshwater systems around the world, finding concentrations that vary by several orders of magnitude across different regions. Researchers identified fibers as the most common shape, with polypropylene and polyethylene as the dominant polymer types, primarily originating from human activities like sewage discharge. The study highlights concerns about microplastic contamination in drinking water and its potential effects on aquatic organisms.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 146 citations
Article Tier 2

Urban Microplastic Pollution Revealed by a Large-Scale Wetland Soil Survey

Researchers conducted a large-scale survey of wetland soils across an urban area and found an average of 379 microplastic particles per kilogram, with abundance closely linked to proximity to the city's economic center. Polypropylene was the most common polymer type, and fiber and fragment shapes dominated the samples. The study found that atmospheric particle pollution and heavy metal concentrations in soil were strongly correlated with microplastic levels, suggesting shared urban pollution sources.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 65 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Recent advances towards micro(nano)plastics research in wetland ecosystems: A systematic review on sources, removal, and ecological impacts

Wetland ecosystems act as important sinks for micro- and nanoplastics, which were found to cause ecotoxicological effects on wetland plants, animals, and microbial communities, including shifts in microbial composition relevant to pollutant removal. Micro/nanoplastics exposure also affected conventional pollutant removal efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions from wetland systems.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution Characteristics and Sources of Microplastics in Inland Wetland Ecosystem Soils

Researchers studied microplastic distribution across river, constructed, and lake wetlands in an inland ecosystem and found abundances ranging from 532 to 4,309 items per kilogram of soil. Lake wetlands emerged as a major sink for microplastics, while constructed wetlands did not significantly remove them. The study identified aquaculture, agriculture, and domestic waste as the primary sources of microplastic pollution in these wetland environments.

2025 Water 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging microplastics in the environment: Properties, distributions, and impacts

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution, covering the most common types of plastics found in the environment, their physical characteristics, and how they are distributed across water, soil, and air. Researchers summarized the potential harmful effects of microplastics on ecosystems and living organisms. The study highlights significant knowledge gaps that still need to be addressed to fully understand the environmental and health risks of these tiny particles.

2022 Chemosphere 116 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics in ecosystems: Critical review of occurrence, distribution, toxicity, fate, transport, and advances in experimental and computational studies in surface and subsurface water

This review provides a broad overview of microplastic contamination across freshwater, marine, and land environments, finding concentrations ranging from negligible to hundreds of thousands of particles per kilogram of sediment. The most common types are polypropylene, polystyrene, polyethylene, and PET, spread by wastewater discharge, stormwater runoff, and poor waste management. The wide variability in contamination levels makes it difficult to assess overall risk to ecosystems and human health.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in freshwater and marine ecosystems: Occurrence, characterization, sources, distribution dynamics, fate, transport processes, potential mitigation strategies, and policy interventions

This review summarizes research on microplastic pollution across freshwater and marine ecosystems on all six continents, finding that polyethylene and polypropylene are the most common types found in water. The study highlights that microplastics serve as carriers for toxic chemicals and can move up the food chain, ultimately posing risks to human health through seafood consumption and drinking water.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics profile in constructed wetlands: Distribution, retention and implications

This study assessed microplastic distribution, retention, and implications within constructed wetlands used for wastewater treatment, finding that wetlands trap substantial quantities of MPs but that retention efficiency varies by plant species and wetland design. The results suggest constructed wetlands both remove and potentially accumulate MPs as a secondary pollution source.

2022 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in aquatic systems: A review of occurrence, monitoring and potential environmental risks

Researchers review the presence of microplastics — tiny plastic fragments less than 5 mm — across freshwater and marine environments worldwide, finding that polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene are the most commonly detected types. Exposure disrupts feeding, movement, and reproduction in aquatic wildlife, and the authors call for standardized measurement methods and legal limits to protect ecosystems.

2023 Environmental Advances 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic shape influences fate in vegetated wetlands

Researchers tested how different shapes of microplastics, including fibers, fragments, and films, are captured by vegetated coastal wetlands compared to unvegetated areas. They found that microplastic shape significantly influenced trapping rates, with fibers being retained most effectively by vegetation. The study indicates that coastal wetland habitats may serve as natural filters for microplastic pollution, but their effectiveness depends on the type of plastic entering the system.

2024 Environmental Pollution 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic in water and wastewater: occurrence, toxicity, analytical approach, and remediation

This comprehensive review analyzed microplastic occurrence and toxicity in water and wastewater across studies from all continents, finding polyethylene and polypropylene as the most common polymer types and reviewing detection, quantification, and remediation methods.

2025 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Emerging Environmental Contaminants: Sources, Distribution and Ecological Implications

This review examines the sources, environmental distribution, and ecological implications of microplastics, which are now found across aquatic, terrestrial, and atmospheric environments worldwide. The study discusses how these persistent plastic fragments can enter food webs and highlights priorities for future monitoring, risk assessment, and pollution mitigation efforts.

2026 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Review Tier 2

A review on the occurrence, distribution, characteristics, and analysis methods of microplastic pollution in ecosystem s

This review covers the occurrence, distribution, characteristics, and analytical methods for microplastics across environmental matrices, emphasizing their small size and resistance to degradation as key factors driving persistence and risk. It identifies gaps in standardized monitoring methods needed for global comparisons.

2021 Environmental Pollutants and Bioavailability 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as novel sedimentary particles in coastal wetlands: A review

This review examined microplastics as novel sedimentary particles in coastal wetlands, arguing that their ubiquity, persistence, and interactions with natural particles warrant treating them as a new class of sedimentary material. The authors found that plastics buried in wetland sediments may be retained for longer than models predict due to high accretion rates, and suggest they can serve as historical pollution markers.

2020 Marine Pollution Bulletin 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics occurrence and fate in full-scale treatment wetlands

Researchers assessed microplastic occurrence and fate across full-scale treatment wetlands, finding that constructed wetlands effectively remove a significant proportion of MPs from wastewater but that removal efficiency varies with wetland design and MP characteristics.

2023 Water Research 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Fate and Effects of Macro- and Microplastics in Coastal Wetlands

Researchers compiled data from 112 studies to evaluate how macro- and microplastics accumulate in and affect coastal wetlands including mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass beds. They found that plastic concentrations in wetland sediments and marine animals were roughly 200 times higher than in the water column, indicating these ecosystems act as major plastic sinks. The study warns that plastic accumulation can alter sediment properties, harm wildlife, and disrupt the carbon storage function of these critical habitats.

2022 Environmental Science & Technology 137 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the environment: Recent developments in characteristic, occurrence, identification and ecological risk

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution across oceans, freshwater, soil, and the atmosphere, examining their sources, movement patterns, and ecological risks. Researchers found that while coastal environments have been well studied, much less is known about microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems. The study synthesizes data on microplastic toxicity, bioaccumulation in organisms, and environmental fate to support better risk assessment.

2022 Chemosphere 115 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in the Aquatic Environment: Overview of the Problem and Current Research Areas

This review summarizes the current state of microplastic research in aquatic environments, covering sources, distribution, ecological impacts, and knowledge gaps. The paper identifies priority research areas needed to better understand and manage microplastic contamination in water bodies.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in different aquatic environments and biota: A review of recent studies

This review provides a comprehensive summary of microplastic pollution across marine and freshwater environments, covering sources, detection methods, and biological impacts. Researchers found that microplastics are present in diverse forms including fragments, fibers, and foams, and are ingested by a wide range of aquatic species. The study highlights the need for improved detection techniques and more research on the effects of microplastic ingestion on both wildlife and humans.

2018 Marine Pollution Bulletin 657 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence, determination and environmental fate of microplastics in aquatic system

This review examines the occurrence, detection methods, and environmental fate of microplastics across aquatic systems worldwide. Researchers synthesize evidence showing microplastics are ubiquitous in rivers, lakes, and oceans, and highlight the need for standardized monitoring and better understanding of long-term ecological impacts.

2020 HKBU Institutional Repository (Hong Kong Baptist University)