Table 1. The table illustrates the... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1.

The table illustrates the occurrence of microplastics within the terrestrial ecosystem and across different trophic levels

Present in	Polymer type	MP type	Effects	References
Soil	PE, PP, pVC, pET, PS, pMMA, LDPE	Fibre, fragment, film, microbead, pallet, foam, and bulk	Soil degradation, ecotoxicity, groundwater contamination, soil porosity, reduced fertility, rise in soil pH, reduced soil fauna, and reduction in water holding capacity	Beriot et al. (2021), Li et al. (2023), Piehl et al. (2018), and Wang et al. (2023)
Primary producers	—	—	—	—
(a) Plants	PS, PP, PE, PVC, PE + PVC	Micro beads	Inhibit seed germination, reduce absorption of water and nutrients, reduce plant growth, and absorb on the root surface	Khan et al. (2024)
Triticum aestivum, Lactuca sativa, Zea mays, Lepidium sativum	PS, PMMA, PE, PLA	Micro beads (labelled with Nile blue)	Bioaccumulation in roots, stems, and leaf cells, distribution among plant cells, and reduced germination rate	Jia et al. (2023) and Li et al. (2020)
(b) Phytoplankton	PE, PS, Nylon, Fibres	Micro beads and micro fibres	Effects on chlorophyll content, growth, ingestion, photosynthesis activity, structural changes, survival, and physical effects	Rodrigues et al. (2021)
A. variabilis	HDPE	—	Reduced growth in high concentrations of MPs	Gopalakrishnan et al. (2023)
P. tricornutum C. gracilis Thalassiosira sp.	PVC	—	Reduced chlorophyll content, reduced photosynthesis, and absorption cause physical damage to the cells	Wang et al. (2020)
Primary consumers	—	—	—	—
(a) Zooplankton For example, Sagittoidea and Copepoda	PVC, nylon, ethylene-vinyl acetate, PUR	Microfibres, fragments, and micro pallets	Ingestion of particles and bioaccumulation	Goswami et al. (2020)
(b) Fish For example, Alepes djedaba, Saurida tumbil, Gerres filamentous, Nemipterus peronei, Carangoides malabaricus, and so on	PE, PS, PUR, nylon, microfibres	Microfibres, fragments, micro pallets, bulk, and microbeads	Causes inflammation, changes in swimming behaviors, respiratory effects, oxidative stress, reproductive effects, and bioaccumulation	Assas et al. (2020), Goswami et al. (2020), and Kim et al. (2021)
(c) Cow	PE, PS	Microfibres and micro-fragments	Accumulation of toxic compounds in gut tissues, impaired fertility, and enter the blood circulation	Grechi et al. (2023) and Sheehan et al. (2022)
Secondary consumers	—	—	—	—
(a) Humans	PP, PS, PET, PMMA	Microfragments, microfibres, microfilm, and microparticles	Reaches placenta tissues at all levels, transportation by bloodstream, bioaccumulation in internal organs (lungs, kidneys, liver, etc.), particle toxicity, oxidative stress, inflammatory lesions, impaired immune response, chronic inflammation, neoplasia risk, and so on	Jiang et al. (2024), Prata et al. (2020), and Ragusa et al. (2021)

Present in	Polymer type	MP type	Effects	References
Soil	PE, PP, pVC, pET, PS, pMMA, LDPE	Fibre, fragment, film, microbead, pallet, foam, and bulk	Soil degradation, ecotoxicity, groundwater contamination, soil porosity, reduced fertility, rise in soil pH, reduced soil fauna, and reduction in water holding capacity	Beriot et al. (2021), Li et al. (2023), Piehl et al. (2018), and Wang et al. (2023)
Primary producers	—	—	—	—
(a) Plants	PS, PP, PE, PVC, PE + PVC	Micro beads	Inhibit seed germination, reduce absorption of water and nutrients, reduce plant growth, and absorb on the root surface	Khan et al. (2024)
Triticum aestivum, Lactuca sativa, Zea mays, Lepidium sativum	PS, PMMA, PE, PLA	Micro beads (labelled with Nile blue)	Bioaccumulation in roots, stems, and leaf cells, distribution among plant cells, and reduced germination rate	Jia et al. (2023) and Li et al. (2020)
(b) Phytoplankton	PE, PS, Nylon, Fibres	Micro beads and micro fibres	Effects on chlorophyll content, growth, ingestion, photosynthesis activity, structural changes, survival, and physical effects	Rodrigues et al. (2021)
A. variabilis	HDPE	—	Reduced growth in high concentrations of MPs	Gopalakrishnan et al. (2023)
P. tricornutumC. gracilis Thalassiosira sp.	PVC	—	Reduced chlorophyll content, reduced photosynthesis, and absorption cause physical damage to the cells	Wang et al. (2020)
Primary consumers	—	—	—	—
(a) ZooplanktonFor example, Sagittoidea and Copepoda	PVC, nylon, ethylene-vinyl acetate, PUR	Microfibres, fragments, and micro pallets	Ingestion of particles and bioaccumulation	Goswami et al. (2020)
(b) FishFor example, Alepes djedaba, Saurida tumbil, Gerres filamentous, Nemipterus peronei, Carangoides malabaricus, and so on	PE, PS, PUR, nylon, microfibres	Microfibres, fragments, micro pallets, bulk, and microbeads	Causes inflammation, changes in swimming behaviors, respiratory effects, oxidative stress, reproductive effects, and bioaccumulation	Assas et al. (2020), Goswami et al. (2020), and Kim et al. (2021)
(c) Cow	PE, PS	Microfibres and micro-fragments	Accumulation of toxic compounds in gut tissues, impaired fertility, and enter the blood circulation	Grechi et al. (2023) and Sheehan et al. (2022)
Secondary consumers	—	—	—	—
(a) Humans	PP, PS, PET, PMMA	Microfragments, microfibres, microfilm, and microparticles	Reaches placenta tissues at all levels, transportation by bloodstream, bioaccumulation in internal organs (lungs, kidneys, liver, etc.), particle toxicity, oxidative stress, inflammatory lesions, impaired immune response, chronic inflammation, neoplasia risk, and so on	Jiang et al. (2024), Prata et al. (2020), and Ragusa et al. (2021)