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Microplastics in Terrestrial Ecosystems

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 5619

Special Issue Editor

College of Environment and Safety Engineering, Qingdao University of Science & Technology, Qingdao 266042, China
Interests: soil pollution and remediation; ecotoxicity of environmental pollutants; emerging contaminants; arbuscular mycorrhizae; phytoremediation; ecotoxicology and environmental risks; heavy metals; ecological restoration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Microplastics are considered emerging contaminants that have a global occurrence. Early studies on microplastics mainly focused on marine and freshwater ecosystems. Recently, microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems, particularly in agroecosystems, have attracted increasing attention. Microplastics can enter the soil via various pathways and cause direct and indirect adverse impacts, potentially threatening terrestrial ecosystems. For example, soil microplastic contamination can produce negative effects on soil health and functioning, plants, and soil community. Furthermore, microplastics (including nanoplastics) can be absorbed by plants including crops and, thus, possibly pose negative consequences for animal and human health through food chains. However, there are large knowledge gaps on microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems, including their occurrence, degradation, accumulation, toxicity, and ecological impacts. Therefore, more efforts are needed to further understand microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems. 

This Special Issue is open to all aspects related to microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems, particularly regarding their toxicity and their ecological effects in soil–plant systems. Studies on the interactions of microplastics and other contaminants are also welcome. The listed keywords represent a few of the priorities. 

Prof. Dr. Fayuan Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • Microplastics
  • Nanoplastics
  • Soil pollution
  • Soil community
  • Toxicity
  • Occurrence
  • Bioavailability
  • Accumulation
  • Identification
  • Quantification
  • Transport
  • Migration
  • Ecological impacts
  • Ecotoxicology

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

10 pages, 1200 KiB  
Article
Microplastic Contamination in Snow from Western Italian Alps
by Marco Parolini, Diego Antonioli, Franco Borgogno, Maria Cristina Gibellino, Jacopo Fresta, Carlo Albonico, Beatrice De Felice, Susanna Canuto, Donatella Concedi, Alessandra Romani, Emanuela Rosio, Valentina Gianotti, Michele Laus, Roberto Ambrosini and Roberto Cavallo
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(2), 768; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18020768 - 18 Jan 2021
Cited by 47 | Viewed by 5141
Abstract
Recent studies have documented the presence of microplastics (MPs) in remote areas, including soils or sediments collected in mountain and glacier environments, but information on their presence in snow is scant. The present study aimed at exploring the presence of MPs in residual [...] Read more.
Recent studies have documented the presence of microplastics (MPs) in remote areas, including soils or sediments collected in mountain and glacier environments, but information on their presence in snow is scant. The present study aimed at exploring the presence of MPs in residual snow collected in four locations of the Aosta Valley (Western Italian Alps), with different accessibility and human presence. Overall, the µ-FTIR analyses confirmed the presence of 18 MPs in snow, 7 (39%) items were fibres, while 11 (61%) were fragments. Polyethylene (PE; 7 MPs) was the main polymer, followed by polyethylene terephthalate (PET; 3 MPs), high density PE (HDPE; 3 MPs), polyester (2 MPs), while only 1 MP made by low density PE, polypropylene and polyurethane were found. The mean (± SE) concentration of MPs in snow ranged between 0.39 ± 0.39 MPs/L and 4.91 ± 2.48 MPs/L, with a mean of 2.32 ± 0.96 MPs/L for the sampling locations. The concentration of MPs did not statistically differ among locations. Our results suggest that MPs presence in high-mountain ecosystems might depend on deposition through atmospheric precipitations or local sources due to human activities. For these reasons, policies aiming at reducing plastic use and dispersal in mountain areas may be effective in preventing local MP contamination. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microplastics in Terrestrial Ecosystems)
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