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Current studies on the degradation of microplastics in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem

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Abstract

Soil and water are two important basic ecosystems for the survival of different organisms. The excessive microplastic pollutants in soil have been directly discharged into the terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastic pollutants (MPs) constitute a ubiquitous global menace due to their durability, flexibility, and tough nature. MPs posed threat to the sustainability of the ecosystem due to their small size and easy transportation via ecological series resulting in the accumulation of MPs in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. After being emitted into the terrestrial ecosystem, the MPs might be aged by oxidative degeneration (photo/thermal), reprecipitation (bioturbation), and hetero-accumulation. The mechanism of adsorption, degradation, and breakdown of MPs into unaffected plastic debris is accomplished by using several biological, physical, and chemical strategies. This review presents the importance of ecosystems, occurrence and sources of MPs, its toxicity, and the alteration in the ecology of the ecosystems. The inhibitory impact of MPs on the ecosystems also documents to unveil the ecological hazards of MPs. Further research is required to study the immobilization and recovery efficiency of MPs on a larger scale.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India

    Kamini Devi, Arun Dev Singh, Shalini Dhiman, Jaspreet Kour, Tamanna Bhardwaj, Neerja Sharma & Renu Bhardwaj

  2. Government College of Education, Jalandhar, Punjab, 144001, India

    Isha Madaan

  3. Department of Botany, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab, 147002, India

    Isha Madaan & Geetika Sirhindi

  4. Department of Botany, D.A.V. University, Jalandhar, Punjab, 144001, India

    Kanika Khanna

  5. Department of Zoology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India

    Puja Ohri

  6. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab, 143005, India

    Amrit Pal Singh

  7. Department of Botany, Government Degree College, Jammu and Kashmir, Ramban, India

    Vinod Kumar

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  1. Kamini Devi
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Kamini Devi, Arun Dev Singh, Shalini Dhiman, Jaspreet Kour, Tamanna Bhardwaj, Neerja Sharma, Isha Madaan, Kanika Khanna: methodology and writing; Puja Ohri, Amrit Pal Singh, Geetika Sirhindi, Vinod Kumar: reviewing and editing; Renu Bhardwaj: editing and supervision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Devi, ., Singh, A.D., Dhiman, S. et al. Current studies on the degradation of microplastics in the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 102010–102026 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29640-0

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