Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Probabilistic environmental risk assessment of microplastics in soils

This study developed a probabilistic risk assessment framework for evaluating microplastic contamination in soils. Researchers analyzed data from multiple studies to estimate the likelihood and severity of microplastic risks to soil ecosystems. The findings indicate that agricultural soils are particularly vulnerable and that current contamination levels in some regions may already pose ecological risks.

2023 Geoderma 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics' Ecotoxicological Assessment and Quantification in the Soil Ecosystem

This review examines the ecotoxicological effects and quantification methods for microplastics in soil ecosystems, synthesizing studies that have detected microplastics in agricultural soils, remote terrestrial environments, and other soil types to assess risks to soil-dwelling organisms.

2025
Article Tier 2

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.

2019 The Science of The Total Environment 509 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in soils: assessment, analytics and risks

This review examines microplastic prevalence, analytical methods, and risks in soils, finding that terrestrial microplastic contamination has received far less attention than marine accumulation despite comparable or greater abundance. Researchers evaluated current difficulties in soil microplastic sampling, isolation, and identification and called for standardised methodologies to assess ecological and human health risks.

2018 Environmental Chemistry 150 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of Microplastics Toward an Ecological Risk in Soil Diversity

This review examines the ecological risks of microplastics in soil environments, discussing their sources, global distribution, mechanisms of entry into soil food webs, effects on microbial communities and soil fauna, biomagnification through trophic levels, and implications for soil ecosystem services and biodiversity.

2022 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil Environment Pollution with Microplastic, Influence Factors and Environmental Risks

This review synthesizes research on microplastic contamination of soil environments, covering the major sources of soil microplastics, factors influencing their accumulation and distribution, and the environmental risks they pose to terrestrial ecosystems and agriculture.

2023 Ecology and Industry of Russia 3 citations
Review Tier 2

Migration and toxicology of microplastics in soil: A review

This review examines how microplastics migrate through soil, summarizes their known toxic effects on soil organisms and plants, and identifies key gaps in current understanding. Soils are increasingly recognized as major microplastic repositories, and their contamination has implications for food safety and ecosystem health.

2019 Environment International
Article Tier 2

A review of microplastics in the soil environment

This review summarizes the current state of knowledge about microplastic contamination in soil environments, covering sources, distribution, and effects on soil organisms and ecosystems. The study highlights that while aquatic microplastic research is more advanced, soil contamination poses significant but understudied risks to terrestrial ecosystems and food production.

2021 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Soils in distress: The impacts and ecological risks of (micro)plastic pollution in the terrestrial environment

This review examines how microplastics affect soil ecosystems, including their transport into soils, changes they undergo in the environment, and their interactions with soil organisms. The effects depend heavily on the type, shape, size, and amount of plastic particles present. Understanding these impacts is important because soil contamination with microplastics can affect food production and ultimately human exposure through the food chain.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 93 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil-dwelling species-based biomarker as a sensitivity-risk measure of terrestrial ecosystems response to microplastics: A dose–response modeling approach

A dose-response modeling approach was applied to data from soil-dwelling organisms to assess the relative sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystems to microplastic contamination, producing species sensitivity distributions as a risk metric. The analysis revealed that certain soil invertebrates are particularly vulnerable even at relatively low microplastic concentrations.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Source, migration and toxicology of microplastics in soil

This review compiles research on the sources, movement, and toxic effects of microplastics in soil ecosystems, an area that has received less attention than aquatic pollution. Researchers describe how microplastics enter soil through agricultural practices, wastewater, and atmospheric deposition, then transfer through food chains to affect organisms at multiple levels. The study identifies major knowledge gaps and proposes management strategies to mitigate the ecological and human health risks of soil microplastic contamination.

2020 Environment International 1141 citations
Article Tier 2

A global review on the abundance and threats of microplastics in soils to terrestrial ecosystem and human health

This review examines microplastic pollution levels across agricultural, roadside, urban, and landfill soils worldwide, finding wide variation but consistent contamination. Microplastics alter soil pH, density, and water movement, disrupt microbial communities, inhibit plant growth, and affect soil animals. For humans, the concern is that microplastics in soil can enter the food chain through crops and contaminated water.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Emerging Soil Pollutants

This review covers how microplastics enter and accumulate in soils, their effects on soil health, microbial communities, soil fauna, and plant growth, and the implications of widespread soil plastic contamination for ecosystem function.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastic diversity, risks and soil impacts: A multi-metric assessment across land-use systems

Researchers surveyed microplastic abundance, polymer diversity, and ecological risk across seven land-use types in India's Brahmaputra Valley, finding that built-up areas had the highest particle counts while forest soils paradoxically showed the greatest polymer hazard scores due to high-risk polymers, and that land-use type shapes both the quantity and composition of soil microplastic contamination.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Species sensitivity distributions of micro- and nanoplastics in soil based on particle characteristics

Researchers analyzed data from 74 studies to assess which soil organisms are most sensitive to micro and nanoplastics, finding that smaller particles and polystyrene types pose the greatest ecological risk. The hazardous concentration threshold for soil organisms was estimated at about 88 mg per kilogram of soil. This is the first study to factor in microplastic physical properties when calculating species sensitivity, providing a foundation for soil pollution guidelines.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the impacts of microplastics on soil meso- and macro-fauna

This study aims to extend understanding of microplastic impacts beyond earthworms to include mites, collembolans, and other key soil invertebrate groups, developing ecotoxicology tests to establish risk assessment levels for microplastics in soil ecosystems.

2025
Article Tier 2

A simplified model for size and shape of microplastics in soil: implications for risk assessment and particle measurement

Researchers developed a simplified model for characterizing microplastic size and shape in soil to address the lack of standardized measurement approaches, with implications for improving probabilistic risk assessment and fate modeling of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The extent and impacts of soil pollution by microplastics

This study examines the extent and impacts of soil pollution by microplastics, reviewing evidence of how microplastic particles accumulate in terrestrial environments and affect soil ecosystems, organisms, and agricultural systems.

2024 SPIRE - Sciences Po Institutional REpository
Article Tier 2

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.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 465 citations
Article Tier 2

Source-specific probabilistic risk assessment of microplastics in soils applying quality criteria and data alignment methods

This study developed a risk assessment framework for microplastics in soil by comparing contamination from different sources including sewage sludge, agricultural mulch, and background pollution. Sewage-contaminated soils showed the highest proportion of samples exceeding risk thresholds, followed by background pollution from diffuse sources. The research provides tools for regulators to evaluate which soil contamination sources pose the greatest ecological risk, which matters for food safety since crops grown in these soils can take up microplastics.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 18 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of microplastics in soil: Occurrence, analytical methods, combined contamination and risks

This review provides a comprehensive overview of microplastic pollution in soil ecosystems, covering sources, detection methods, and ecological impacts. Researchers found that soils are major reservoirs for microplastics, and the study highlights how combined contamination with other pollutants like heavy metals and pesticides may amplify risks to soil organisms and food safety.

2022 Environmental Pollution 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent trends and open questions regarding the effects of microplastics on soil, plants and soil microorganisms

This review surveys recent trends in research on how microplastics affect soil health, plant growth, and soil microorganisms, identifying areas of scientific consensus and key open questions. The authors highlight that microplastics are emerging as a genuine threat to agroecosystem function, though many mechanistic questions about dose-response relationships and long-term soil effects remain unresolved.

2024 Bulgarian Journal of Soil Science Agrochemistry and Ecology
Article Tier 2

Global perspective of ecological risk of plastic pollution on soil microbial communities

This review examined how plastic pollution affects soil microbial communities worldwide, looking at factors like plastic type, size, and soil conditions. The researchers highlight that current studies often use unrealistically high plastic concentrations and short exposure times, making it hard to predict real-world impacts. They call for more field-based research, especially on nanoplastics and their effects on soil food webs and ecosystem functions.

2024 Frontiers in Microbiology 7 citations