Adverse effects of microplastics on earthworms: A critical review

Cui, Weizhen; Gao, Panpan; Zhang, Miaoyuan; Wang, Lei; Sun, Hongwen

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158041

Cited by 55 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…However, whether the NMP adsorbed with contaminants will enter the organism’s body depends on the organism’s traits, such as feeding behavior [ 54 ]. If the contaminated NMPs do not enter the body, the bioavailability may be decreased, as NMP acts as a sink for the contaminant.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Nano- and Microplastic (NMP) Influence on the Bioaccumulation of Environmental Contaminants: Part I—Soil Organisms

Tourinho

Loureiro

Pavlaki

et al. 2023

Toxics

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Nano- and microplastics (NMPs) are a group of contaminants that cause concern due to their abundance in the environment, high persistence, and interaction with other contaminants. This review aims to understand the role of NMP in the bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants. For that, a comprehensive literature search was conducted to identify publications that compared the uptake of contaminants in the presence and absence of NMP. In this part I, twenty-eight publications of the terrestrial compartment were analyzed. Two main taxonomic groups were studied, namely, earthworms and terrestrial plants. In earthworms, most studies observed an increase in the bioaccumulation of the contaminants, while in plants, most studies observed a decrease in the bioaccumulation. Changes in bioavailable fractions of contaminants due to NMP presence was the main reason pointed out by the authors for their outcomes. Moreover, biological aspects were also found to be important in defining how NMPs affect bioaccumulation. Dermal damage and changes in contaminant-degrading bacteria in the gut of earthworms caused an increase in bioaccumulation, and root pore blockage was a common reason for the decrease in the bioaccumulation of contaminants in plants. Nevertheless, such effects were mainly observed at high, unrealistic NMP concentrations. Finally, knowledge gaps were identified, and the limitations of this systematic review were presented.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review of Nano- and Microplastic (NMP) Influence on the Bioaccumulation of Environmental Contaminants: Part I—Soil Organisms

Tourinho

Loureiro

Pavlaki

et al. 2023

Toxics

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“…Following this study, other researchers used lower exposure doses which were more comparable to environmentally relevant concentrations to study the effects of microplastics on earthworms [ 20 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Furthermore, the impact of micro(nano)plastics on the bioaccumulation of other contaminants in earthworms represents another significant research domain [ 30 , 31 ]. In particular, several studies investigated the combined effects of microplastics and heavy metals (e.g., zinc and arsenic) [ 32 , 33 ] or organic chemicals [ 26 , 34 ].…”

Section: Document Co-citation Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cluster #2 “ingestion” had 27 members and a high Silhouette value (larger than 0.7). It has been shown that micro(nano)plastics can be ingested by earthworms due to their small sizes [ 30 , 43 ]. For instance, Wang et al [ 34 ] used Nile red fluorescence imaging and clearly observed the ingestion of polyethylene (PE, ≤300 μm) and polystyrene (PS, ≤250 μm) particles by the earthworm Eisenia fetida .…”

Section: Analysis Of Hotspot Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, combined exposure can induce greater oxidative damage to earthworms compared with exposure to micro(nano)plastics or other pollutants alone, and, thus, negative effects on growth, behavior and the immune system of earthworms can be heightened [ 20 , 53 , 54 ]. In addition to the increased bioaccumulation of contaminants in earthworms, an increase in intestinal permeability and changes in gut bacterial communities induced by micro(nano)plastics are important factors that can potentially enhance oxidative damage upon combined exposure [ 30 , 58 ].…”

Section: Analysis Of Hotspot Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Global Research Activities on Micro(nano)plastic Toxicity to Earthworms

Gong

Wang

et al. 2023

Toxics

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Micro(nano)plastics are emerging contaminants that have been shown to cause various ecotoxicological effects on soil biota. Earthworms, as engineers of the ecosystem, play a fundamental role in soil ecosystem processes and have been used as model species in ecotoxicological studies. Research that evaluates micro(nano)plastic toxicity to earthworms has increased greatly over the last decade; however, only few studies have been conducted to highlight the current knowledge and evolving trends of this topic. This study aims to visualize the research status and knowledge structure of the relevant literature. Bibliometrics and visualization analyses were conducted using co-citations, cooperation networks and cluster analysis. The results showed that micro(nano)plastic toxicity to earthworms is an emerging and increasingly popular topic, with 78 articles published from 2013 to 2022, the majority of which were published in the last two years. The most prolific publications and journals involved in this topic were also identified. In addition, the diversity of cooperative relationships among different countries and institutions confirmed the evolution of this research field, in which China contributed substantially. The high-frequency keywords were then determined using co-occurrence analysis, and were identified as exposure, bioaccumulation, soil, pollution, toxicity, oxidative stress, heavy metal, microplastic, Eisenia foetida and community. Moreover, a total of eight clusters were obtained based on topic knowledge clustering, and these included the following themes: plastic pollution, ingestion, combined effects and the biological endpoints of earthworms and toxic mechanisms. This study provides an overview and knowledge structure of micro(nano)plastic toxicity to earthworms so that future researchers can identify their research topics and potential collaborators.

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“…Microplastics damage soil organisms, in particular earthworms (e.g. Cui et al 2022, Tibbett et al 2020. The latter paper summarizes: "The lack of research effort in key areas of high priority in the threats to soil biodiversity are a concerning finding and requires some consideration and debate in the research community."…”

Section: Acidification and Plastication In Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biotic Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Stock: What We Had & What We Lost

Blakemore¹

2023

Preprint

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Land’s basic metric is soil organic carbon (SOC) yet global estimates range 1,417–15,000 Gt C. Erosion of ancient topsoil and loss of soil taxa are most urgent of all context-triage concerns, and most ignored. Re-evaluation of topographical terrain on a non-flat Earth increases most soil dynamic inventories. Carbon credits of our neglected and disappearing SOC stocks are enumerated for mineral soils (~4,100 Gt C plus ca. 20–30% glomalin), Permafrost (>4,200 Gt C), peat (1,123 Gt C), plant roots (916 Gt C), litter (600 Gt C), microbes (200 Gt C), fungi (30 Gt C), biocrust (10–20 Gt C), earthworms (2.3–3.6 Gt C), termites (0.15 Gt C), nematodes (0.06 Gt C), ants (0.024 Gt C), and soil viruses (0.02–4.0 Gt C). Net contribution to atmospheric CO2 is more from biotic topsoil loss (>10 Gt C/yr) than fossil fuels (<10 Gt C/yr). Although higher CO2 results in a terrestrial greening effect with Net Primary Productivity (NPP) now ~220 Gt C/yr (cf. ~20 Gt C/yr Ocean NPP), this is arguably offset by topsoil erosion, desert expansion, plus fire at net ~16–20 Gt C/yr lost due, in part, to extravagant meat-eating with unsupportable, humus-depleting farm management. In particular, excess synthetic Nitrogen acidifies topsoil and destroys the natural SOC biota. Review shows critical topsoil loss up to 20,000 tonnes per second and, when soil microbes/invertebrates are properly considered, extinctions as high as 23 taxa per second. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) fail without solid soil foundation. Rather, heritage farm-data points to resolution in organic husbandry. Remedy via natural vermi-compost, 100% organic farming and practical Permaculture is under a simple premise that the Problem (i.e., SOC loss) is the Solution (viz., SOC restoration).

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Adverse effects of microplastics on earthworms: A critical review

Cited by 55 publications

References 62 publications

A Systematic Review of Nano- and Microplastic (NMP) Influence on the Bioaccumulation of Environmental Contaminants: Part I—Soil Organisms

A Systematic Review of Nano- and Microplastic (NMP) Influence on the Bioaccumulation of Environmental Contaminants: Part I—Soil Organisms

Global Research Activities on Micro(nano)plastic Toxicity to Earthworms

Biotic Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) Stock: What We Had & What We Lost

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