Activities of Microplastics (MPs) in Agricultural Soil: A Review of MPs Pollution from the Perspective of Agricultural Ecosystems

Microplastics are emerging persistent pollutants which have attracted increasing attention worldwide. Althoughmicroplastics have been widely detected in aquatic environments, their presence in soil ecosystems remains largely unexplored.Plastic debris accumulates in farmland, causing serious environmental problems, which may directly affect food substances orindirectly affect the members in each trophic level of the food chain. This review summarizes the origins, migration, and fate ofmicroplastics in agricultural soils and discusses the interaction between microplastics and the components in farmland from theperspectives of toxicology and accumulation and deduces impacts on ecosystems by linking the organismal response to an ecologicalrole. The effects on farmland ecosystem function are also discussed, emphasizing the supply of agricultural products, food chainpathways, carbon deposition, and nitrogen cycling and soil and water conservation, as microplastic pollution will affect agriculturalecosystems for a long period, posing an ecological risk. Finally, several directions for future research are proposed, which is importantfor reducing the effect of microplastics in agricultural systems.

Automated summary

This review summarizes the origins, migration, and fate of microplastics in agricultural soils, discusses the interaction between microplastics and the components in farmland, and explores the impacts on ecosystems. It also highlights the effects on farmland ecosystem function, including agricultural product supply, food chain pathways, carbon deposition, nitrogen cycling, and soil and water conservation.