Microplastic Pollution: An Emerging Threat to Terrestrial Plants and Insights into Its Remediation Strategies

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous and constitute a global hazard to the environment because of their robustness, resilience, and long-term presence in the ecosystem. For now, the majority of research has primarily focused on marine and freshwater ecosystems, with just a small amount of attention towards the terrestrial ecosystems. Although terrestrial ecosystems are recognized as the origins and routes for MPs to reach the sea, there is a paucity of knowledge about these ecological compartments, which is necessary for conducting effective ecological risk assessments. Moreover, because of their high persistence and widespread usage in agriculture, agribusiness, and allied sectors, the presence of MPs in arable soils is undoubtedly an undeniable and severe concern. Consequently, in the recent decade, the potential risk of MPs in food production, as well as their impact on plant growth and development, has received a great deal of interest. Thus, a thorough understanding of the fate and risks MPs, as well as prospective removal procedures for safe and viable agricultural operations in real-world circumstances, are urgently needed. Therefore, the current review is proposed to highlight the potential sources and interactions of MPs with agroecosystems and plants, along with their remediation strategies.

The first record of ingestion and inhalation of micro and mesoplastics by neotropical bats from the Brazilian Amazon

“…Despite the growing number of publications in terrestrial environments, no studies described the path of plastic waste from primary producers to tertiary or quaternary consumers 33 . However, transport of these plastic wastes by the vascular systems of plants has already been reported 53,63 , which leads to the presence and consequent accumulation of these residues in the roots, leaves, seeds, and fruits 32,64 . This plastic waste can be primarily from the atmospheric air 65 , which is subsequently carried to the soil and bodies of water 34,65 .…”

“…MPs are the plastic waste most found in the environment and the most signi cant concern, as they are considered the easiest to spread and the most assimilated by organisms [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] . The effects of MP absorption are not yet fully elucidated, but there is already knowledge about ingestion by various organisms ranging from the aquatic 38,39 to the terrestrial environments 40 .…”

“…Studies on the ingestion or inhalation of microplastics by bats are still incipient compared to the other groups 31,32,36,37,42,43 . However, the contamination of MPs in human organs has been demonstrated.…”

Indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment: How plastic contamination from disposable surgical masks affect early development of plants

“…Previous literature on plastic-induced changes in terrestrial organisms, though limited, has clearly shown that the presence of plastics in soil can not only inhibit the growth and reproduction of soil invertebrates ( i.e. micro-sized mask effects on springtails and earthworms) ( Kwak and An, 2021 ) but can also influence plant growth and development (recently reviewed by Kumari et al 2022 ). Nonetheless, our knowledge on this topic is scarce.…”

A Practical Valorization Approach for Mitigating Textile Fibrous Microplastics in the Environment: Collection of Textile-Processing Waste Microfibers and Direct Reuse in Green Thermal-Insulating and Mechanical-Performing Composite Construction Materials

“…Since the presence of MPs was first reported in water in 2004 [4], a broad spectrum of MP removal technologies from the aqueous medium, such as adsorption, sedimentation, ultrafiltration, photocatalysis, magnetic removal, microbubbles, and activated sludges, has been investigated [5][6][7][8][9][10][11]. When MPs were found in the terrestrial environment, biodegradation became the primary investigated strategy for soil remediation [12].…”