Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Examining Soil Microplastics: Prevalence and Consequences Across Varied Land Use Contexts

Scientists examined microplastic contamination in soil samples from different land use areas in Makassar City, Indonesia. They found microplastics present across all sites, with the types and concentrations varying based on how the land was used, whether for agriculture, residential, or commercial purposes. The study suggests that human activity patterns strongly influence the amount and kind of microplastic pollution found in urban and agricultural soils.

2024 Civil Engineering Journal 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil microplastic pollution under different land uses in tropics, southwestern China

Soil microplastic pollution was compared across four land use types in tropical southwestern China -- primary and secondary forests, rubber plantations, and banana plantations -- finding that agricultural land uses had higher microplastic abundance than natural forest soils.

2021 Chemosphere 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Macro and microplastics in the soil: abundance, characterization, identification, and interactions under different land uses in an agricultural sub-basin

Researchers examined the abundance, characterization, identification, and interactions of macro- and microplastics in soils under different land uses within an agricultural sub-basin, assessing how land-use patterns influence plastic pollution distribution and potential interactions with the soil environment.

2025 LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas)
Article Tier 2

Distribution pattern and risk assessment of microplastics contamination in different agricultural systems

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in agricultural soils across six sites in Coimbatore, India with distinct farming practices, finding microplastics in 81% of organic matter-removed samples. The study revealed that different agronomic inputs and land management practices produce distinct microplastic contamination profiles.

2024 International Journal of Environmental & Analytical Chemistry 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of land-use patterns on soil microplastics: Distribution characteristics and driving factors in southern China’s Pearl River Delta

A study across different land-use types in China's Pearl River Delta found that agricultural land had higher soil microplastic concentrations than urban or forested areas, with land-use history and plastic mulch film use as the dominant factors controlling MP distribution and polymer composition.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of soil properties and land use patterns on the distribution of microplastics: A case study in southwest China

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in soils across different land use types in Guizhou Province, southwest China. The study found that soil properties and land use patterns significantly influence microplastic abundance and distribution, with agricultural and urban soils generally showing higher contamination levels than less intensively managed areas.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 35 citations
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

Abundance, spatial distribution, and characteristics of microplastics in agricultural soils and their relationship with contributing factors

Researchers found microplastic concentrations of 2,800 to 82,500 particles per kilogram in agricultural soils of Hainan Island, China, with plastic mulching, farming practices, and environmental factors all contributing to spatial variation in contamination levels.

2022 Journal of Environmental Management 88 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in Urban Soils From Different Land Use Activities of Cyberjaya (Malaysia): Exploring Occurrence, Relationships, Sources and Pollution Level

Researchers surveyed urban soils across five different land uses in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, and found microplastics in all of them, with construction areas showing the highest concentrations. The types of plastic particles varied by location, suggesting that the sources and characteristics of soil microplastic contamination depend on what activities take place in that area.

2024 Land Degradation and Development 7 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025
Article Tier 2

The influence of plastic mulch degradation on microplastic contamination in agricultural soils under different climatic conditions

Researchers studied how plastic mulch degradation generates microplastic contamination in Indonesian agricultural soils under humid (Bogor) and hot-dry (Lombok) climatic conditions, finding that environmental factors strongly influenced degradation rates and microplastic accumulation patterns.

2025 Sains Tanah - Journal of Soil Science and Agroclimatology
Article Tier 2

A Method for the Extraction and Analysis of Microplastics from Tropical Agricultural Soils in Southeastern Brazil

Researchers developed and validated a method for extracting and analyzing microplastics from tropical agricultural soils, adapting density separation and filtration protocols to account for the high organic matter and clay content typical of tropical soil matrices.

2025 Soil Systems 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Subsurface transport and environmental risks of microplastic pollution: influence of land use and seasonal variability

Researchers systematically investigated how microplastics move vertically through soil across five different land use types during pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. Dumpsites had the highest microplastic concentrations at nearly 40,000 particles per kilogram, while woodlands had the lowest at around 500 particles per kilogram. The study found that smaller microplastics traveled deeper into soil, especially after monsoon rains, and that land use type significantly influenced both the amount and composition of microplastic contamination.

2025 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination and Its Impact on Soil Properties Across Different Land Uses in Cross River State, Nigeria

A survey of soils across four land-use types in southeastern Nigeria found microplastic concentrations up to 12 times higher in commercial areas than in forests, with contamination linked to changes in soil structure, nutrient availability, and water infiltration. This is the first large-scale assessment of microplastic distribution in Nigerian tropical soils, filling a major data gap for sub-Saharan Africa. The findings suggest that heavily contaminated commercial soils may have degraded agricultural and ecological functionality, with consequences for food security in the region.

2026 Iconic Research and Engineering Journals
Article Tier 2

Global concentrations of microplastic in soils, a review

This global review synthesized data from studies on microplastic concentrations in soils worldwide, finding contamination across diverse terrestrial environments with higher levels near urban areas and agricultural land. Terrestrial soils are estimated to contain far more microplastic than the world's oceans, making them a critical but understudied reservoir of plastic pollution.

2020 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics abundance associated with farmland use types and the impact on soil microbial communities: A case study in Southern China

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination across orchard, paddy field, and vegetable field soils in Southern China and analyzed how it affected soil microbial communities. They found microplastic levels ranging widely across sites, with very small particles under 30 micrometers being most common, and identified 32 different polymer types. The study shows that farmland use type and agricultural practices like plastic mulching significantly influence both the amount and type of microplastic contamination in soils.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of land use and landscape on the occurrence and distribution of microplastics in soil, China

Researchers investigated how land use patterns affect microplastic contamination in soils across different agricultural, orchard, grassland, and woodland areas in Yunnan Province, China. Agricultural lands, especially those with greenhouses and traditional farming, had significantly higher microplastic levels than grasslands and woodlands, with fragments being the dominant shape. The study suggests that farming practices, including plastic mulch use and fertilizer application, are major contributors to soil microplastic pollution.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 100 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

Prevalence of microplastics in agricultural soils in southern Portugal

Researchers conducted the first survey of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils from southern Portugal, collecting samples across four land-use areas with different farming practices and characterizing polymer types and their associations with agricultural history in a Mediterranean system.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Widespread microplastic pollution in mangrove soils of Todos os Santos Bay, northern Brazil

Researchers found widespread microplastic pollution in mangrove soils around Todos os Santos Bay in Brazil, detecting contamination at multiple depths and distances from the tidal area, highlighting mangroves as previously overlooked sinks for microplastic accumulation.

2022 Environmental Research 91 citations