Health risk analysis of microplastics in soil in the 21st century: A scientometrics review

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) in soil cause severe damage to the ecological environment and organisms, and research on their health risks has received extensive attention, but there is no comprehensive review of this research. From the perspective of bibliometrics, this paper systematically and comprehensively describes the progress, trends, and hotspots of health risks of MPs in soil based on the Web of Science Core Collection, Pubmed, and Scopus databases. Since 2016, people’s research on the health risks of MPs in soil has increased yearly; MPs in soil mainly come from Plastic mulch, Plastic waste, Sludge and sewage, and Organic fertilizer. China has the most publications on the health risks of MPs on soil, and more than half of the top 10 institutions with active publications in this field are from China. This paper systematically expounds on the health risks of MPs to organisms (plants, humans, and microorganisms) and control measures. Cooperation between different countries/institutions and fields/disciplines on the health risk analysis of MPs in soil and research on more efficient, green, and environmentally friendly methods and technologies for reducing soil MPs content will become the frontier trends of future development which provide valuable reference and help for future researchers.

Correlation of contamination/pollution from microplastics with physical properties of inceptisols

“…Soil samples have been collected from agricultural fields to analyze microplastic concentrations. Following existing and modified methods [13][14] [15], 1 kg of composited soil samples were collected and placed in transparent glass bottles with sample labels on the outside. In the laboratory, soil samples were prepared based on the technical guidelines for soil analysis.…”

Knowledge Map of Soil Nutrient Migration Analysis Based on WOS (Web of Science) Database

“…It can effectively find out the literature that has a key impact on the development of a discipline by analyzing the citation relationship of the literature, and show the development trend and trend of a discipline or knowledge field in a certain period [16]. Researchers used Citespace to study hot issues and research trends in the fields of soil ecosystem [17], soil microorganism [18], soil erosion [19], soil remediation using biochar [20], soil heavy metal [21], soil microplastics [22], soil pollution [23], soil health [24] and so on (heavy metal contaminated soil remediation, soil respiration, soil microorganism, soil pesticide pollution, soil erosion, soil heavy metals). Chen et al [17] used CiteSpace to analyze and study the knowledge map of soil ecosystem, and revealed the evolution law and driving factors of research topics in this field, changes of research hotspots and future research trends.…”