The distribution of microplastics in soil aggregate fractions in southwestern China.

By G.S. Zhang, Y. Liu. Science of the Total Environment, 2018

1,031 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Plastic particle accumulation in arable soils is a growing contaminant of concern with unknown consequences for soil productivity and quality. This study aimed to investigate abundance and distribution of plastic particles among soil aggregate fractions in four cropped areas and an established riparian forest buffer zone at Dian Lake, southwestern China. Plastic particles (10-0.05 mm) from fifty soil samples were extracted and then sorted by size, counted, and categorized. Plastic particles were found in all soil samples. The concentration of plastic particles ranges from 7100 to 42,960 particles kg-1 (mean 18,760 particles kg-1). 95% of the sampled plastic particles are in the microplastic size (1-0.05 mm) range. The predominant form is plastic fibers, making up on average 92% of each sample followed by fragments and films that contributed with to 8%. Results of this study also show that 72% of plastic particles are associated with soil aggregates, and 28% of plastic particles are dispersed. The abundance of aggregate-associated plastic fibers is significantly greater in the micro-aggregate than that in the macro-aggregate, whereas the less concentrations of plastic films and fragments are found in the micro-aggregate. Compared to the adjacent vegetable soil, the less concentration of plastic particles in the buffer soil implicates that application of soil amendments and irrigation with wastewater must be controlled to reduce accumulation of microplastics in agricultural soils. While the implications of microplastic on ecological and human health are poorly understood, the staggering number of microplastic in agricultural soils should be continually concerned in the future.

Subfields: Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pollution

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/25903e6c794767372a7a9d899d0e38a7d82c63a2

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In Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

1. Yuhuan Sun
2. C. Adams
3. Fayuan Wang
4. Shuwu Zhang

In Pollution

1. Quanlong Wang
2. Yuhuan Sun
3. C. Adams
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Citations in the corpus

• The “Plastisphere” of Biodegradable Plastics Is Characterized by Specific Microbial Taxa of Alpine and Arctic Soils (2020, background): “Yet, some studies have examined the quantity of synthetic polymers in terrestrial ecosystems (Piehl et al., 2018; Scheurer and Bigalke, 2018; Zhang and Liu, 2018) and have documented detrimental effects of plastics in soils on earthworms (Huerta Lwanga et al.”
• A microplastic used as infill material in artificial sport turfs reduces plant growth (2020, neutral): “Previous studies have shown already that plastic particles might negatively affect soil animals that have in‐ gested the particles (Huerta Lwanga et al., 2017) or are otherwise exposed to them (Zhu et al., 2018).”
• Interactions between microplastics and soil fauna: A critical review (2021, background): “In cropland soil and forest soil of southwestern China, plastic particles (10–0.05 mm) range from 7100 to 42960 particles kg 1 (mean 18760 particles kg 1), 95% of which are in the MP size (1–0.05 mm) range (Zhang & Liu, 2018).”