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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Processes controlling the transportation of microplastics in agricultural soils
ClearMicroplastics 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.
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.
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.
Size/shape-dependent migration of microplastics in agricultural soil under simulative and natural rainfall
Researchers found that microplastic migration in agricultural soil under rainfall depends on particle size and shape, with smaller particles moving deeper and rainfall intensity significantly influencing vertical transport patterns in soil profiles.
Microplastics transport in soils: A critical review
This critical review examined how microplastics are transported through soils, evaluating the role of particle size and shape, soil texture, water flow, and bioturbation in governing vertical and lateral transport. The authors identify knowledge gaps in field-scale transport processes and call for standardized leaching experiments to improve predictions of microplastic mobility in terrestrial systems.
Transport and Fate of Microplastics in Terrestrial Environments: The Role of Surface Runoff, Root-Mediated Infiltration, and Fragmentation-Driven Mobility
Researchers investigated the transport and fate of microplastics in terrestrial environments through three key processes -- surface runoff, root-mediated infiltration, and fragmentation-driven mobility -- applying classical sediment transport principles to microplastic movement. Field studies and laboratory experiments examined how particle characteristics such as density, size, and shape influence microplastic distribution across agricultural and natural landscapes.
Rainfall-Induced Transport of Microplastics in Soils Depends on Soil Pore Structure
Scientists studied how tiny plastic particles move through real soil when it rains, finding that the soil's natural pore structure (like tiny tunnels and holes) determines how deep and fast the plastics travel. This research helps us better understand how microplastics spread through farmland soil, which is important because these plastics could eventually end up in our food and water supply. Understanding this movement is a key step toward predicting long-term health risks from microplastic contamination.
Microplastic fate in soil environments: Drivers of the vertical transport of mulching film fragments
This study examined the vertical transport and fate of microplastics in soil environments, focusing on particles generated from the degradation of plastic mulch films used in agriculture. Multiple drivers including soil structure, rainfall, and particle properties were shown to influence how deeply microplastics migrate through the soil profile.
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.
Understanding the overland transport of microplastics from agricultural soils to freshwater systems
This study investigated how microplastics move from agricultural soils to freshwater systems through surface runoff. Researchers found that rainfall intensity, soil type, and particle characteristics all influenced how much plastic reached waterways. Understanding the overland transport pathway is important because agricultural soils are one of the largest reservoirs of microplastics in terrestrial environments.
Microplastic distribution and transport in agricultural soils : from field to burrow scale
Researchers investigated the spatial distribution and transport of microplastics in agricultural soils through field surveys and laboratory experiments. They found that sewage sludge amendments led to significantly higher microplastic contamination than mineral fertilizers, and that earthworm activity was a key mechanism for moving plastic particles deeper into soil. The study highlights the importance of accounting for both horizontal and vertical microplastic transport in soils when assessing agricultural pollution.
Impact of Different Soil Tillage Practices on Microplastic Particle Abundance and Distribution
Field experiments across different tillage and fertilization regimes quantified microplastic abundance and vertical distribution in agricultural soils, finding that tillage practices significantly influenced how deeply microplastics are mixed through the soil profile.
Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil
Researchers conducted laboratory soil column experiments to examine how microplastic polymer type affects both water infiltration rates and the transport of the plastic particles themselves through soil, testing the two most commonly used agricultural microplastic types under controlled hydrological conditions. The study found that polymer type significantly influenced both water flow dynamics and microplastic mobility in soil, with important implications for predicting plastic fate in agricultural and natural terrestrial ecosystems.
Vertical transport of microplastic in agricultural soil in controlled irrigation plot experiments
Researchers conducted field plot experiments in agricultural soil and found that microplastics migrate vertically with irrigation water, with smaller particles (53–63 µm) penetrating up to 6 cm deep and larger particles remaining near the surface, indicating that water infiltration is a key driver of subsurface plastic transport.
Horizontal and vertical mobilisation of microplastics in agricultural soils: run-off and infiltration experiments
Researchers studied the horizontal and vertical movement of microplastics from agricultural mulch films in soil, examining runoff and leaching as transport pathways. The study found that microplastics from mulch films migrate both downward into the soil profile and laterally via surface runoff.
Review of microplastic sources, transport pathways and correlations with other soil stressors: a journey from agricultural sites into the environment
Researchers reviewed how microplastics spread from farms into surrounding soils, waterways, and air through both biological processes (like earthworm movement) and physical ones (like wind and runoff), while also carrying along pesticides, fertilizers, and pathogens as hitchhikers. The review highlights major gaps in our understanding of microplastic transport across landscapes and calls for more field-scale research.
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.
Microplastic fate in soil environments: Drivers of the vertical transport of mulching film fragments
Researchers investigated the vertical transport of microplastics from plastic mulch films in soil, identifying factors that control how far particles move downward into the soil profile. Particle size, shape, and soil properties were found to be key drivers of microplastic vertical migration.
Distribution and dynamics of microplastics in soils
This doctoral research mapped how microplastics are distributed and transported through soils, examining how soil properties like texture and organic matter influence their accumulation, breakdown, and mobility into groundwater. Because soils are both a major sink and a transfer medium for microplastics, this work helps build the foundation needed for assessing contamination risks to agriculture and drinking water.
Microplastic Incorporation into Soil in Agroecosystems
This study examined how microplastic particles are incorporated into soil in agricultural settings, finding that farming practices — particularly tillage and irrigation — facilitate microplastic mixing through the soil profile.
Impact of Layering and Heterogeneity on the Transport Dynamics of Microplastics in Soil Columns: Implications for Groundwater Contamination
Researchers studied microplastic transport through layered and heterogeneous soil columns to assess groundwater contamination risk from agricultural microplastic inputs. Layered soils with contrasting textures showed preferential flow that accelerated microplastic transport to deeper horizons compared to homogeneous soils, suggesting heterogeneous agricultural soils may pose a higher groundwater contamination risk than previously modeled.
Influences of land use and depth profile on the characteristics of microplastics in agricultural soils
Researchers examined how land use and soil depth profile influence microplastic characteristics in agricultural soils, finding that wastewater and sludge application, plastic mulching, and atmospheric deposition are key sources, and that MP type and abundance vary with soil management practice and depth, highlighting the importance of vertical distribution in soil MP studies.
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.
[Distribution, Sources, and Behavioral Characteristics of Microplastics in Farmland Soil].
This systematic review summarizes existing research on how microplastics distribute, accumulate, and move through farmland soils worldwide. The study found that microplastics in agricultural soil come mainly from plastic mulch films, fertilizers, and irrigation water, with fibers and fragments being the most common shapes detected. Since farmland microplastics can be taken up by crops, this contamination pathway is a direct route for microplastics to enter the human food supply.