Microplastic and mesoplastic pollution in farmland soils in suburbs of Shanghai, China. (November 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Mengting; Lu, Shibo; Song, Yang; Lei, Lili; Hu, Jiani; Lv, Weiwei; Zhou, Wenzong; Cao, Chengjin; Shi, Huahong; Yang, Xiaofeng; He, Defu
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 242(2018)Part A
• Page Start: 855
• Page End: 862
• Publication Date: 2018-11
• Subjects: Microplastics -- Mesoplastics -- Soils -- Farmland -- Terrestrial ecosystem; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.07.051
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Microplastics are emerging pollutants which have been extensively detected in water environments. However, little is known about microplastic pollution in soil environments. In this study, we investigated microplastics and mesoplastics in farmland soils from twenty vegetable fields around the suburbs of Shanghai. In each site, three duplicate soil samples were collected from shallow (0–3 cm) and deep soils (3–6 cm), respectively. Microplastics (sizes of 20 μm - 5 mm) and mesoplastics (5 mm - 2 cm) were detected using methods of density extraction, 30% H2 O2 digestion and micro-fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The abundance of microplastics was 78.00 ± 12.91 and 62.50 ± 12.97 items kg −1 in shallow and deep soils, respectively. While, mesoplastics were found with abundance of 6.75 ± 1.51 and 3.25 ± 1.04 items kg −1 in shallow and deep soils. Among these micro(meso)plastics, 48.79% and 59.81% were in size of <1 mm in shallow and deep soils. The main morphotypes of microplastics included fiber, fragment and film, mostly in color of black or transparent. Moreover, we found that topsoil contained higher concentrations and larger sizes of micro(meso)plastics than deep soil. In addition, the vast majority of micro(meso)plastics were polypropylene (50.51%) and polyethylene (43.43%). This study reveals occurrence and characteristics of microplastic pollution in typical farmland soils. It provides important data for subsequent research on microplatics in the terrestrial ecosystem. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Occurrence of micro(meso)plastics (M/MPs) was revealed in farmland soils in Shanghai. Average abundance of microplastics was 78.00 and 62.50 items/kg in top and deep soils. 48.79–59.81% M/MPs were <1 mm, mostly with shapes of fiber, fragment and film. Mean size of M/MPs was 1.91 and 1.48 mm in top (significantly larger) and deep soil. Major of micro(meso)plastics were polypropylene (50.51%) and polyethylene (43.43%).