MICRO-PLASTICS IN SOIL ENVIRONMENT: A REVIEW

Abstract

Environmental scientists and other stakeholders have paid serious attention to soil pollution by microplastics in the last ten years. In soils, the microplastic particles act as a vector for the toxic persistent organic pollutants and potentially toxic metals that are easily sorbed by plants and enter the food chain. Microplastics are emerging as persistent terrestrial pollutants due to mismanagement and indiscriminate use. Microplastic contaminants affect the physicochemical characteristics of the soil as well as the feeding patterns of the soil biota. Sewage sludge, bio waste compost additions, plastic mulching, wastewater irrigation, landfill leachate, and air deposition are the causes of microplastics in soils. The amount of microplastics particles per kilogram of soil ranged from zero to thirteen thousand pieces. There are 523 times as many microplastic particles in the soil as there are in the ocean. Plant growth and seed germination are slowed down by the microplastic in the soil. Microplastics also affect the soil's enzymatic activities. The environmental sources of microplastic include plastic pellets, city dust, abrasion of road markings, tires, synthetic textiles, personal care products, and cosmetics. Human consumption through food can have a variety of harmful effects, including cytotoxicity, immunotoxicity, pulmonary toxicity, and reproductive toxicity. The current study describes the origins, distribution, and effects of microplastics on plants, soil biota, and human health in the soil environment.

References

Alimi, O.S., Budarz, J.F., Hernandez, L.M. and Tufenkji, N. 2018. Microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic environments: Aggregation, deposition, and enhanced contaminant transport. Environ. Sci. Technol. 52:1704-1724. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1021/ acs. est. 7b055 59

Al-Jaibachi, R., Cuthbert, R.N. and Callaghan, A. 2019. Examining Effects of Ontogenic Microplastic Transference on Culex Mosquito Mortality and Adult Weight. Science of the Total Environment. 651(1):871-876. 

Auta, H.S., Emenike, C.U. and Fauziah, S.H. 2017. Distribution and Importance of Microplastics in the Marine Environment: A Review of the Sources, Fate, Effects, and Potential Solutions. Environment International. 102:165-176.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.02.013.  

Bansal, O.P. 2020. Microplastic in the Rivers and Oceans and Their Impact: A Review. International Journal of Recent Scientific Research.11 (2):3729137298.

http://dx.doi.org/10.24327/ijrsr.2020.1102.5083. 

Blasing, M. and Amelung, W. 2018. Plastics in Soil: Analytical Methods and Possible Sources. Science of the Total Environment. 612:422-435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv. 2017.08.086. 

Boucher, J. and Friot, D. 2017. Primary Microplastics in the Oceans: A Global Evaluation of Sources.

Boucher, C., Morin, M. and Bendell, L.I. 2016. The Influence of Cosmetic Microbeads on the Sorptivebehavior of Cadmium and Lead Within Intertidal Sediments: A Laboratory Study. Regional Studies in Marine Science. 3:1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2015.11.009. 

Burghardt, T.E., Pashkevich, A. and Mosböck, H. 2020. Microplastics Originating from Road Markings: A Significant Overestimate. International Conference "Fate and impacts of Microplastics: Knowledge and Responsibilities". 2327.11.2020. https://doi.org/10.13140/ RG.2.2.10974.36169. 

Chai, B., Li, X., Liu, H., Lu, G., Dang, Z. andYin, H. 2020. Bacterial communities on soil microplastic at Guiyu, an E-Waste dismantling zone of China. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 195:110521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ecoenv. 2020. 110521

Cao, D., Xiao, W., Luo, X., Zhang, D., Ma, L. and Zheng, H. 2017. Effects of Polystyrene Microplastics on the Fitness of Earthworms in an Agricultural Soil. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 61. https://doi.org/10.1088/17551315/61/1/012148. 

Choi, Y.R., Kim, Y.N., Yoon, J.H., Dickinson, N., Kim and K.H. 2021. Plastic contamination of forest, urban, and agricultural soils: a case study of Yeoju City in the Republic of Korea. J. Soils Sediment. 21:1962-1973. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s11368- 020- 02759-0

Corradini, F., Meza, P., Eguiluz, R., Casado, F., Huerta-Lwanga. E. and Geissen, V, 2019. Evidence of microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from sewage sludge disposal. Sci. Total Environ. 671:411-420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scito tenv. 2019. 03.368

Cox, K.D., Covernton, G.A., Davies, H.L., Dower, J.F., Juanes, F. and Dudas, S. E. 2019. Human Consumption of Microplastics. Environmental Science & Technology. 53:7068-7074. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01517.

De Falco, F., Di Pace, E., Cocca, M. and Avella, M. 2019. The Contribution of Washing Processes of Synthetic Clothes to Microplastic Pollution. Scientific Reports. 9:6633. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-43023-x. 

De Souza Machado, A.A., Lau, C.W., Kloas, W., Bergmann, J., Bachelier, J.B., Faltin, E., Becker, R., Görlich, A.S. and Rillig, M.C. 2019. Microplastics Can Change Soil Properties and Affect Plant Performance. Environmental Science & Technology. 53:6044-6052. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b01339. 

Dong, Y., Gao, M., Qiu, W. and Song, Z. 2021a. Effect of microplastics and arsenic on nutrients and microorganisms in rice rhizosphere soil. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 211:111899. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. ecoenv. 2021. 111899

Dong, H.D., Liu, T., Han, Z.Q., Li, W., He, Y.Q. and Zhang, D. M. (2015. Determining Time Limits of Continuous Film Mulching and Examining Residual Effects on Cotton Yield and Soil Properties. Journal of Environmental Biology.36:677-684.

http://www.jeb.co.in/.../paper_25.pdf. 

Dris, R., Gasperi, J., Saad, M., Mirande, C. and Tassin, B. 2016. Synthetic Fibers in Atmospheric Fallout: A Source of Microplastics in the Environment? Marine\Pollution Bulletin. 5: 104 (1-2): 290-293. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.marpolbul. 2016.01.006. 

FAO. 2021. Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability. A call for action. Rome. Retrieved March 9, 2023.  https://doi.org/ 10.4060/cb7856en

Fuller, S. and Gautam, A. 2016. A procedure for measuring microplastics using pressurized fluid extraction. Environ. Sci. Technol. 50:5774-5780. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs. est. 6b008 16

Essel, R., Engel, L., Carus, M. and Ahrens, R.H. 2015. Sources of Microplastics Relevant to Marine Protection in Germany. Texte. 64/2015. German Federal Environment. 

Galloway, T.S., Cole, M. and Lewis, C. 2017. Interactions of Microplastics Throughout the Marine Ecosystem. Nature Ecology & Evolution. 1(5):116. https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41559-017-0116. 

Gland, Switzerland : IUCN. 2017. 43. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2017.01.en. 

Guo, J.J, Huang, X.P, Xiang, L., Wang, Y.Z, Li, Y.W, Li, H., Cai, Q.Y., Mo, C.H. and Wong, M.H. 2020. Source, migration and toxicology of microplastics in soil. Environ. Int. 137:105263. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. envint. 2019. 105263

Habib, R., Thiemann, T. and Al Kendi, R. 2020. Microplastics and Wastewater Treatment Plants-A Review. Journal of Water Resource and Protection. 12:1-35.

         https://doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2020.121001

Hamid, F.S., Hatti, M.S., Anuar, N., Khoder, G. and Elhag, A.A. 2018. Worldwide Distribution and Abundance of Microplastic: How Dire is the Situation? Waste Management & Research. 36(10): 873-897. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734242X18785730.

Han, X., Lu, X. and Vogt, R.D. 2019. An optimized density-based approach for extracting microplastics from soil and sediment samples. Environ. Pollut. 254:113009. https://doi. org/10. 1016/j. envpol. 2019. 113009

Horton, A.A., Walton, A., Spurgeon, D.J., Lahive, E. and Svendsen, C. 2017. Microplastics in Freshwater and Terrestrial Environments: Evaluating the Current Understanding to Identify the Knowledge Gaps and Future Research Priorities. Science of the Total Environment. 586:127-141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv. 2017.01.190. 

Huang, Y., Liu, Q., Jia, W., Xu, X., Zhang, Y. and Li, X.. 2020. Agricultural Plastic Mulching a Source of Microplastics in the Terrestrial Environment. Environmental Pollution. 260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114096. 

Huerta -Lwanga, E., Beriot, N., Corradini, F., Silva, V., Yang, X., Baartaman, J., Rezaei, M., Van Schaik, L., Riksen, M. and Geissen, V. 2022) Review of Microplastic Sources, Transport Pathways and Correlations with Other Soil Stressors: A Journey from Agricultural Sites into the Environment. Chemical and Biological Technologies in Agriculture. 9:20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40538-021-00278-9. 

Huffer, T., Praetorius, A., Wagner, S., von der Kammer, F. and Hofmann, T. 2017. Microplastic exposure assessment in aquatic environments: Learning from similarities and differences to engineered nanoparticles. Environ. Sci. Technol. 51:2499-2507. https://doi.org/10.1021/ acs. est. 6b040 54

International Organization for Standardization. 2018. Standard ISO 18400–104:2018-Soil Quality Sampling. https:// www. iso. org/ stand ard/ 65223. html. Accessed Oct 2018

Jeong, D.H., Ju, B., Lee, W., Chung, H., Park, J. and Kim, C. 2018. A mini-review on discharge characteristics and management of microplastics in sewage treatment plants. J. Korean Soc. Water Wastewater. 32:337–348. https:// doi. org/ 10. 11001/ jksww. 2018. 32.4. 337

Jiang, X.J., Liu, W., Wang, E., Zhao, J., Zhang, C. and Zhang, J. 2017. Residual Plastic Mulch Fragments Effects on Soil Physical Properties and Water Flow Behavior in the Minqin Oasis, Northwestern China. Soil and Tillage Research. 166:100-107. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.still.2016.10.011. 

Ju, H., Zhu, D. and Qiao, M. 2019. Effects of Polyethylene Microplastics on the Gut Microbial Community, Reproduction and Avoidance Behaviors of the Soil Springtail, Folsomia Candida. Environmental Pollution. 247:890-897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol. 2019. 01.097. 

Khan, F.R., Halle, L.L. and Palmqvist, A. 2019. Acute and Long-Term Toxicity of Micronized Car Tire Wear Particles to Hyalella Azteca. Aquatic Toxicology. 213. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.aquatox.2019.05.018. 

Kim, S.K, Kim, J.S, Lee, H and Lee, H.J. 2021. Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in soils with different agricultural practices: Importance of sources with internal origin and environmental fate. J. Hazard Mater. 403:123997. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jhazm at. 2020. 123997

Kim, Y., Han, W.S. and Yoon, H. 2019. Mobility of microplastics in subsurface environments: Current knowledge and perspectives. J. Soil Groundw. Environ. 24:1-12. https://doi.org/ 10.7857/JSGE. 2019. 24.3. 001

Kong, X., Jin, D., Jin, S., Wang, C., Li, X. and Zhang, W. 2018. Responses of Bacterial Community to Dibutyl Phthalate Pollution in a Soil-Vegetable Ecosystem. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 353:142-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.04.015. 

Leal Filho, W., Dedeoglu, C., Dinis, M.A.P, Shiel, C. and Olsson, E.2022. Riverine Plastic Pollution in Asia: Results from a Bibliometric Assessment. Land. 11.

https://doi.org/10.3390/land11071117. 

Le Moine, B., and Ferry, X. 2019. Plasticulture: Economy of resources. Acta. Horticulturae. 1252: 121–130. https://doi.org/10.17660/actahortic. 2019.1252.17

Li, J., Liu, H., and Paul Chen, J. 2018. Microplastics in freshwater systems: A review on occurrence, environmental effects, and methods for microplastics detection. Water Res. 137:362–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. watres. 2017. 12. 056

Li, J., Song, Y., and Cai, Y. 2020. Focus topics on microplastics in soil: Analytical methods, occurrence, transport, and ecological risks. Environ. Pollut. 257:113570. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envpol. 2019. 113570

Li, H., Lu, X., Wang, S., Liu, L., Zhang, Y., and Zhang, H. 2021b. Vertical Migration of Microplastics Along Soil Profile Under Different Crop Root Systems. Environmental Pollution. 278. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116833. 

Liu, M., Lu, S., Song, Y., Lei, L., Hu, J., Lv, W., Zhou, W., Cao, C., Shi, H., and Yang, X. 2018. Microplastic and mesoplastic pollution in farmland soils in suburbs of Shanghai, China. Environ. Pollut. 242:855–862. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. envpol. 2018. 07. 051

Liu, H., Yang, X., Liu, G., Li, X., and Zhang, Y. 2017. Response of Soil Dissolved Organic Matter to Microplastic Addition in Chinese Loess Soil. Chemosphere. 185:907-917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere. 2017.07.064. 

Liu, S., Wang, J., Zhu, J., Liu, X., Liu, W., and He, H. 2021. The Joint Toxicity of Polyethylene Microplastic and Phenanthrene to Wheat Seedlings. Chemosphere. 282. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/ j.chemosphere.2021.130967. 

Loder, M.G., Imhof, H.K., Ladehoff, M., Löschel, L.A., Lorenz, C., Mintenig, S., Piehl, S., Primpke, S., Schrank, I., Laforsch, C., and Gerdts, G. 2017. Enzymatic purification of microplastics in environmental samples. Environ. Sci. Technol. 51:14283-14292. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1021/ acs. est. 7b03055

Lozano, Y.M., Lehnert, T., Linck, L.T Sampson, M., and Hübner, S. 2021. Microplastic Shape, Polymer Type, and Concentration Affect Soil Properties and Plant Biomass. Front Plant Science. 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.616645. 

Lu, S., Zhu, K., Song, W., Song, G., Chen, D., Hayat, T., Alharbi, N.S., Chen, C., and Sun, Y. 2018. Impact of water chemistry on surface charge and aggregation of polystyrene microspheres suspensions. Sci. Total Environ. 630:951–959.

https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. scito tenv. 2018. 02. 296

Magnusson, K., Eliaeson, K., Frane A., Haikonen, K., Olshammar, M., Stadmark, J., and Hultén, J. 2016.Swedish sources and pathways for microplastics to the marine environment. http:// urn. kb. se/ resolve? urn= urn: nbn: se: ivl: diva- 362

Mbachu, O., Jenkins, G., Kaparaju, P., and Pratt, C. 2021a. The rise of artificial soil carbon inputs: Reviewing microplastic pollution effects in the soil environment. Sci. Total Environ. 780:146569. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. scito tenv. 2021. 146569

Mbachu, O., Jenkins, G., Pratt, C., and Kaparaju, P. 2021b. Enzymatic purification of microplastics in soil. MethodsX. 8:101254. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mex.2021. 101254

Moller, J., Loder, M.G.J. and Laforsch, C. 2020. Finding Microplastics in Soils - A Review of Analytical Methods. Environmental Science & Technology. 54(4):2078-2090. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04618. 

Ng, E.L., Huerta, L.E., Eldridge, S.M., Johnston, P., Hu, H.W., Geissen, V., and Chen, D. 2018. An overview of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution in agroecosystems. Sci. Total Environ. 627:1377–1388. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. scito tenv. 2018. 01. 341

Ng, E.L., Lin, S.Y., Dungan, A.M., Colwell, J.M., Ede, S., Huerta, L.E., Meng, K., Geissen, V., Blackall, L.L. and Chen, D. 2021. Microplastic pollution alters forest soil microbiome. J. Hazard Mater. 409:124606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazm at. 2020. 124606

Nizzetto, L., Norling, M. and Kainz, M. 2022. Catchment-scale mechanistic predictions of microplastic transport and distribution across land and water. Research Square.

Prata, J.C. 2018. Airborne microplastics: consequences to human health? Environ. Pollut. 234:115-126.

Qi, R., Jones, D.L., Li, Z., Zhang, L., Wu, X. and Xu, L. 2020. Behavior of Microplastics and Plastic Film Residues in the Soil Environment: A Critical Review. Science of the Total Environment. 703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134722. 

Ren, S.Y., Kong, S.F. and Ni, H.G. 2021. Contribution of Mulch Film to Microplastics in Agricultural Soil and Surface Water in China. Environmental Pollution. 291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118227. 

Rillig, M.C. 2012. Microplastic in terrestrial ecosystems and the soil. Environmental Science & Technology. 46(12):6453-6454. Rillig, M.C., Lehmann, A., de Souza Machado, A.A. and Yang, X. 2019. Microplastic Effects on Plants. New Phytol. 223:1066-1070. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15794. 

Rodrigues, M.O., Abrantes, N., Gonçalves, F.J.M., Nogueira, H., Marques, J.C. and Gonçalves, A.M.M. 2018. Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Microplastics in Water and Sediments of a Freshwater System (Antuã River, Portugal). Science of the Total Environment. 633:1549-1559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.03.233.   

Rodríguez-Seijo, A., Santos, B., Ferreira da Silva, E., Cachada, A. and Pereira, R. 2019. Low-density polyethylene microplastics as a source and carriers of agrochemicals to soil and earthworms. Environ. Chem. 16:8–17. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1071/ EN181 62

Rocha-Santos, T. and Duarte, A.C. 2017. A critical overview of the analytical approaches to the occurrence, the fate and the behavior of microplastics in the environment. Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 111: 135-146.

Sajjad, M., Huang, Q., Khan, S., Zhang, S., Hussain, R. and Li, W. 2022. Microplastics in the Soil Environment: A Critical Review. Environmental Technology & Innovation. 27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2022.102408. 

Senathirajah, K., Attwood, S., Bhagwat, G., Carbery, M., Wilson, S. and Palanisami, T. 2021. Estimation of the Mass of Microplastics Ingested- A Pivotal First Step Towards Human Health Risk Assessment. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 404. (Pt B). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.124004. 

Sharma, S. and Chatterjee, S. 2017. Microplastic Pollution, A Threat to Marine Ecosystem and Human Health: A Short Review. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 27:21530-21547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356017-9910-8. 

Sun, X., Li, Q., Shi, Y., Zhao, Y., Zheng, S., Liang, J., Liu, T. and Tian, Z. 2019. Characteristics and Retention of Microplastics in the Digestive Tracts of Fish from the Yellow Sea. Environmental Pollution. 249:878-885. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.01.110. 

Townsend, K.R., Lu, H.C., Sharley, D.J. and Pettigrove, V. 2019. Associations Between Microplastic Pollution and Land Use in Urban Wetland Sediments. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 26:22551-22561. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04885-w.  

Unice, K.M., Weeber, M.P., Abramson, M., Reid, R.C.D., van Gils, J.A.G., Markus, A.A., Vethaak, A.D. and Panko, J.M. 2019. Characterizing export of land-based microplastics to the estuary-Part I: application of integrated geospatial microplastic transport models to assess tire and road wear particles in the Seine watershed. Sci. Total Environ. 646:1639-1649.

Van den Berg, P., Huerta-Lwanga, E., Corradini, F. and Geissen, V. 2020. Sewage Sludge Application as a Vehicle for Microplastics in Eastern Spanish Agricultural Soils. Environmental Pollution. 261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114198.  

Van Schothorst, B., Beriot, N., Huerta-Lwanga, E. and Geissen, V. 2022. Sources of Light Density Microplastic Related to two Agricultural Practices: The Use of Compost and Plastic Mulch. Environments. 8:36. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments8040036

Wang, J., Liu, X., Li, Y., Wang, Z. and Zhang, Y. 2019. Microplastics as Contaminants in the Soil Environment: A Mini-Review. Science of The Total Environment. 691:848859. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.209.  

Weithmann, N., Moller, J.N., Loder, M.G.J., Piehl, S., Laforsch, C. and Freitag, R. 2018. Organic fertilizer as a vehicle for the entry of microplastic into the environment. Sci. Adv. 4:8060. https:// doi. org/ 10.1126/ sciadv. aap80 60

Xia, R. 2019. The biggest likely source of microplastics in California coastal waters? Our car tires, The Loss Angeles Times.

Xu, B., Liu, F., Cryder, Z., Tang, C. and Chen, L. 2020a. Microplastics in the Soil Environment: Occurrence, Risks, Interactions and Fate-A Review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology. 50(21):2175-2222. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2019. 1694822.  

Yu, H., Zhang, Z., Zhang, Y., Fan, P., Xi, B., Tan, W. 2021. Metal type and aggregate microenvironment govern the response sequence of speciation transformation of different heavy metals to microplastics in soil. Sci. Total Environ. 752:141956. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. scito tenv. 2020. 141956

Yu, J.R., Adingo, S., Liu, X.L., Wang, J. and Zhang, Y. 2022. Micro-plastics in soil ecosystem - A review of sources, fate, and ecological impact. Plant, Soil and Environment. 68:117. https://doi.org/10.17221/242/2021-PSE.

Zhang, G.S., Liu, Y.F. 2018. The distribution of microplastics in soil aggregate fractions in southwestern China. Sci. Total Environ. 642:12–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. scito tenv. 2018. 06. 004

Zhou, Y., Liu, X. and Wang, J. 2019 Characterization of microplastics and the association of heavy metals with microplastics in suburban soil of central China. Sci Total Envirn 694:133798. https://doi. org/10.1016/j. scito tenv. 2019. 133798.