Keywords
soil health
pollution detection
plastic identification
global standards
How to Cite
Abstract
Microplastics – small plastic particles ≤ 5 mm – have quietly invaded soils, threatening the delicate balance of ecosystems and soil organisms. This review dives into the toolbox scientists use to detect and extract these hidden pollutants from soil and soil-dwelling organisms. We explore methods such as floating plastics in salty solutions, breaking down organic matter with hydrogen peroxide or enzymes, and using high-tech imaging like infrared spectroscopy. While some techniques, like sodium iodide separation, recover over 95% of microplastics, their high cost and complexity remain hurdles. Gentler approaches, such as enzyme-based digestion, protect fragile organisms but take longer. Despite advances, the field struggles with inconsistent methods and the near-invisible challenge of nanoplastics. Innovations like atomic force microscopy hint at future breakthroughs, but unifying global standards and blending old and new techniques will be key to turning the tide. This work calls for teamwork across disciplines to sharpen our tools, safeguard soils, and stem the silent spread of microplastic pollution.
References
Bläsing M, Amelung W (2018) Plastics in soil: Analytical methods and possible sources. Science of the Total Environment 612: 422–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.08.086
Claessens M, Van Cauwenberghe L, Vandegehuchte MB, Janssen CR (2013) New techniques for the detection of microplastics in sediments and field collected organisms. Marine Pollution Bulletin 70(1–2): 227–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.03.009
Cole M, Webb H, Lindeque PK, Fileman ES, Halsband C, Galloway TS (2014) Isolation of microplastics in biota-rich seawater samples and marine organisms. Scientific Reports 4: 4528. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04528
Corradini F, Meza P, Eguiluz R, Casado F, Huerta-Lwanga E, Geissen V (2019) Evidence of microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils from sewage sludge disposal. Science of the Total Environment 671: 411–420. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.368
Crichton EM, Noël M, Gies EA, Ross PS (2017) A novel, density-independent and FTIR- compatible approach for the rapid extraction of microplastics from aquatic sediments. Analytical Methods 9: 1419–1428. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6AY02733D
David J, Steinmetz Z, Kučerík J, Schaumann GE (2018) Quantitative analysis of poly(ethylene terephthalate) microplastics in soil via thermogravimetry–mass spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry 90(15): 8793–8799. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.8b00355
de Souza Machado AA, Lau CW, Till J, Kloas W, Lehmann A, Becker R, Rillig MC (2018) Impacts of microplastics on the soil biophysical environment. Environmental Science & Technology 52(17): 9656–9665. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b02212
Dehaut A, Cassone AL, Frère L, Hermabessiere L, Himber C, Rinnert E, Rivière G, Paul- Pont I (2016) Microplastics in seafood: Benchmark protocol for their extraction and characterization. Environmental Pollution 215: 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.05.018
Density of a plastic: What you need to know (2025) https://www.polychemer.com/news/density-of-a-plastic-what-you-need-to-know-84948640.html?_gl=1*17p8dwr*_gcl_au*MTk2ODY3NjM4Ni4xNzU1ODU0MDYx (Accessed April 17, 2025).
Dissanayake PD, Kim S, Sarkar B, Oleszczuk P, Sang MK, Haque MN, Ahn JH, Bank MS, Ok YS (2022) Effects of microplastics on the terrestrial environment: A critical review. Environmental Research 209: 112734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.112734
Dümichen E, Eisentraut P, Bannick CG, Barthel AK, Senz R, Braun U (2017) Fast identification of microplastics in complex environmental samples by a thermal degradation method. Chemosphere 174: 572–584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.02.010
Erni-Cassola G, Gibson MI, Thompson RC, Christie-Oleza JA (2017) Lost, but found with Nile Red: A novel method for detecting and quantifying small microplastics (1 mm to 20 μm) in environmental samples. Environmental Science & Technology 51(23): 13641–13648. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.7b04512
Fan W, Qiu C, Qu Q, Hu X, Mu L, Gao Z, Tang X (2023) Sources and identification of microplastics in soils. Soil and Environmental Health 1(2): 100019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seh.2023.100019
FAO (2021) Assessment of agricultural plastics and their sustainability – A call for action. Italy, Rome, 160 pp. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb7856en
Fuller S, Gautam A (2016) A procedure for measuring microplastics using pressurized fluid extraction. Environmental Science & Technology 50(11): 5774–5780. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b00816
Helmberger MS, Miesel JR, Tiemann LK, Grieshop MJ (2022) Soil invertebrates generate microplastics from polystyrene foam debris. Journal of Insect Science 22(1): 21. https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/ieac005
Horton AA, Walton A, Spurgeon DJ, Lahive E, Svendsen C (2017) Microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial environments: Evaluating the current understanding to identify the knowledge gaps and future research priorities. The Science of The Total Environment 586: 127–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.01.190
Huerta-Lwanga E, Gertsen H, Gooren H, Peters P, Salánki T, van der Ploeg M, Besseling E, Koelmans AA, Geissen V (2016) Microplastics in the Terrestrial Ecosystem: Implications for Lumbricus terrestris (Oligochaeta, Lumbricidae). Environmental Science & Technology 50(5): 2685–2691. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5b05478
Hurley RR, Lusher AL, Olsen M, Nizzetto L (2018) Validation of a method for extracting microplastics from complex, organic-rich, environmental matrices. Environmental Science and Technology 52 (13): 7409–7417. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.8b01517
Hurley RR, Nizzetto L (2018) Fate and occurrence of micro(nano)plastics in soils: Knowledge gaps and possible risks. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 1: 6–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2017.10.006
Irhema S (2022) Microplastic in the Agro-ecosystem. Libyan Journal of Ecological & Environmental Sciences and Technology 4(1): 1–11. http://aif-doi.org/LJEEST/040103
Käppler A, Fischer D, Oberbeckmann S, Schernewski G, Labrenz M, Eichhorn KJ, Voit B (2016) Analysis of environmental microplastics by vibrational microspectroscopy: FTIR, Raman or both? Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 408: 8377–8391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9956-3
Kokalj AJ (2023) The impact of microplastics on soil invertebrates. Proceedings 92(1): 82. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2023092082
Liu M, Lu S, Song Y, Lei L, Hu J, Lv W, Zhou W, Cao C, Shi H, Yang X, He D (2019) Microplastic and mesoplastic pollution in farmland soils in suburbs of Shanghai, China. Environmental Pollution 242(A): 855–862. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.07.051
Lv L, Yan X, Feng L, Jiang S, Lu Z, Xie H, Sun S, Chen J, Li C (2021). Challenge for the detection of microplastics in the environment. Water environment research: a research publication of the Water Environment Federation 93(1): 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/wer.1281
Materić D, Kjær HA, Vallelonga P, Tison JL, Röckmann T, Holzinger R (2022) Nanoplas- tics measurements in Northern and Southern polar ice. Environmental Research 208: 112741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2022.112741
Mitrano DM, Wick P, Nowack B (2021) Placing nanoplastics in the context of global plastic pollution. Nature Nanotechnology 16: 491–500. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-021-00888-2
Möhrke ACF, Haegerbaeumer A, Traunspurger W, Höss S (2022) Underestimated and ignored? The impacts of microplastic on soil invertebrates – Current scientific knowledge and research needs. Frontiers in Environmental Science 10: 975904. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.975904
Mohana AA, Farhad SM, Haque N, Pramanik BK (2021) Understanding the fate of nanoplastics in wastewater treatment plants and their removal using membrane processes. Chemosphere 284: 131430. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131430
Möller JN, Löder MGJ, Laforsch C (2020) Finding microplastics in soils: A review of analytical methodology. Environmental Science & Technology 54(4): 2078–2090. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04618
Munno K, Helm PA, Jackson DA, Rochman C, Sims A (2018) Impacts of temperature and selected chemical digestion methods on microplastic particles. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 37(1): 91–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.3935
Nuelle MT, Dekiff JH, Remy D, Fries E (2014) A new analytical approach for monitoring microplastics in marine sediments. Environmental Pollution 184: 161–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.07.027
Primpke S, Wirth M, Lorenz C, Gerdts G (2018) Reference database design for the automated analysis of microplastic samples based on Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 410(21): 5131–5141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-018-1156-x
Renner G, Schmidt TC, Schram J (2018) Analytical methodologies for monitoring micro(nano)plastics: Which are fit for purpose? Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 1: 55–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2017.11.001
Rillig MC (2012) Microplastic in terrestrial ecosystems and the soil? Environmental Science & Technology 46(12): 6453–6454. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es302011r
Rillig MC, Ingraffia R, de Souza Machado AA (2017) Microplastic incorporation into soil in agroecosystems. Frontiers in Plant Science 8: 1805. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.01805
Sajjad M, Huang Q, Khan S, Khan MA, Liu Y, Wang J, Lian F, Wang Q, Guo G (2022) Microplastics in the soil environment: A critical review. Environmental Technology & Innovation 27: 102408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2022.102408
Selonen S, Dolar A, Kokalj AJ, Skalar T, Dolcet LP, Hurley R (2020) Exploring the impacts of plastics in soil – The effects of polyester textile fibers on soil invertebrates. Science of the Total Environment 700: 134451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134451
Sinha S, Sharma R, Ansari MR, Singh R, Pathak S, Jahan N, Petab KR (2025) Multifunctional oleic acid functionalized iron oxide nanoparticles for antibacterial and dye degradation applications with magnetic recycling. Materials Advances 6: 2253–2268. https://doi.org/10.1039/D5MA00036J
Siddiqui SA, Abdul Manap AS, Kolobe SD, Monnye M, Yudhistira B, Fernando I (2024) Insects for plastic biodegradation – A review. Process Safety & Environmental Protection 186: 833–849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2024.04.021
Silva AB, Bastos AS, Justino CIL, da Costa JP, Duarte AC, Rocha-Santos TAP (2018) Microplastics in the environment: Challenges in analytical chemistry – A review. Analytica Chimica Acta 1017: 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2018.02.043
Southwood TRE, Henderson PA (2000) Ecological methods. 3rd edition. Blackwell Science, USA, 569 pp.
Wang Q, Adams CA, Wang F, Sun Y, Zhang S (2022) Interactions between microplastics and soil fauna: A critical review. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science & Technology 52(18): 3211–3243. https://doi.org/10.1080/10643389.2021.1915035
Zhang J, Wang L, Kannan K (2020) Microplastics in house dust from 12 countries and associated human exposure. Environment International 134: 105314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105314
Zhang Y, Zhang X, Li X, He D (2022) Interaction of microplastics and soil animals in agricultural ecosystems. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health 26: 100327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2022.100327
Zhu D, Chen QL, An XL, Yang XR, Christie P, Ke X, Wu LH, Zhu YG (2018) Exposure of soil collembolans to microplastics perturbs their gut microbiota and alters their isotopic composition. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 116: 302–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2017.10.027
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.