Nanoplastics in soil and aquatic ecosystems: Sources, impacts, and nature-based remediation strategies.
Kaya C, Ashraf M, Sarkar B, Bolan N, Rinklebe J
Soil Health
PubMedThe fruits and vegetables in your garden may already be absorbing microscopic plastic particles through their roots from soil contaminated by plastic mulch, treated wastewater, or even rainfall — and scientists are only beginning to understand what that means for what ends up on your plate.
Incredibly tiny pieces of plastic — far smaller than a grain of sand — are now found almost everywhere: in farm fields, rivers, and even the air. Plants can actually pull these particles up through their roots and into the parts we eat, like fruits and vegetables. This also stresses the plants, makes it harder for them to grow, and throws off the communities of helpful microbes that normally keep soil fertile and water ecosystems balanced.
Key Findings
Nanoplastic concentrations in aquatic environments range from 0.3 to 488 μg/L, while agricultural soils globally may hold up to 6.6 million metric tons of microplastics.
Plants absorb nanoplastics through both roots and potentially leaves, with accumulation confirmed in edible crop tissues including fruits and vegetables, raising direct food safety concerns.
Nanoplastics induce oxidative stress in plants, impair photosynthesis, disrupt soil microbial communities, and reduce aquatic biodiversity — threatening both ecosystem stability and agricultural productivity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Tiny plastic particles smaller than a virus are building up in farm soils and waterways worldwide, getting absorbed into food crops through their roots, and disrupting the microbial communities that keep soils and ecosystems healthy. Nature-based cleanup strategies like using plants to extract these pollutants offer promising, scalable solutions.
Abstract Preview
Nanoplastics (NPs), defined as plastic particles smaller than 100 nm, are increasingly recognized as emerging contaminants in both soil and aquatic ecosystems. Their widespread presence, originates...
open_in_new Read full abstract on PubMedAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Chloroplast Genome Editing Eliminates Gluten Immunogenicity in Triticum aestivum
It could mean that people with celiac disease — roughly 1 in 100 worldwide — may one day safely eat bread made from real wheat, without sacrificing the taste...