Moss Bags as Biomonitors of Atmospheric Microplastic Deposition in Urban Environments

Simple Summary The atmosphere is an important transport pathway of microplastics to remote and urban environments. We assessed the efficacy of moss bags as an active biomonitoring technique for atmospheric microplastic deposition. Microplastics were observed in all moss bags deployed along an urban intensity gradient; moss bags exposed in the most densely populated and trafficked areas accumulated a higher number of microplastics compared with those exposed in low-density areas. Microplastics (plastic particles <5 mm) were first identified in the environment during the 1970s and have since become ubiquitous across every environmental compartment. However, few studies have focused on atmospheric microplastics, and even fewer have used biological monitoring to assess their atmospheric deposition. Here, we assess the efficacy of moss bags as an active biomonitoring technique for atmospheric microplastic deposition. Moss (Pleurozium schreberi) bags were exposed in duplicate at nine deployment sites across a gradient of urban intensity in southern Ontario, Canada. A total of 186 microplastics (mp) were detected in the moss bags, resulting in a mean accumulation of 7.9 mp g(-1) dry weight moss across all sites during the exposure period (45 days). The median microplastic length was 0.56 mm (range 0.03-4.51 mm), and the dominant microplastic type was fibres (47%), followed by fragments (39%). Microplastic accumulation significantly increased with urban intensity, ranging from 3.7 mp g(-1) in low-density suburban areas to 10.7 mp g(-1) in densely populated and trafficked urban areas. In contrast, microfibres by proportion dominated in suburban (62%) compared with urban areas (33%). Microplastic deposition was estimated to range from 21 to 60 mp m(-2) day(-1) across the nine deployment sites. The results suggest that moss bags may be a suitable technique for the active biomonitoring of atmospheric microplastic deposition in urban environments.

Automated summary

The atmosphere is an important pathway for microplastics to reach remote and urban environments. Moss bags were used to monitor atmospheric microplastic deposition. Microplastics were found in all moss bags deployed in different urban areas, with higher accumulation in densely populated and trafficked areas. This study suggests that moss bags can be an effective method for monitoring atmospheric microplastic deposition in urban environments.