The DOI matches its Crossref record; 175 of the 175 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial environments: Evaluating the current understanding to identify the knowledge gaps and future research priorities
Open accessAbstract
Plastic debris is an environmentally persistent and complex contaminant of increasing concern. Understanding the sources, abundance and composition of microplastics present in the environment is a huge challenge due to the fact that hundreds of millions of tonnes of plastic material is manufactured for societal use annually, some of which is released to the environment. The majority of microplastics research to date has focussed on the marine environment. Although freshwater and terrestrial environments are recognised as origins and transport pathways of plastics to the oceans, there is still a comparative lack of knowledge about these environmental compartments. It is highly likely that microplastics will accumulate within continental environments, especially in areas of high anthropogenic influence such as agricultural or urban areas. This review critically evaluates the current literature on the presence, behaviour and fate of microplastics in freshwater and terrestrial environments and, where appropriate, also draws on relevant studies from other fields including nanotechnology, agriculture and waste management. Furthermore, we evaluate the relevant biological and chemical information from the substantial body of marine microplastic literature, determining the applicability and comparability of this data to freshwater and terrestrial systems. With the evidence presented, the authors have set out the current state of the knowledge, and identified the key gaps. These include the volume and composition of microplastics entering the environment, behaviour and fate of microplastics under a variety of environmental conditions and how characteristics of microplastics influence their toxicity. Given the technical challenges surrounding microplastics research, it is especially important that future studies develop standardised techniques to allow for comparability of data. The identification of these research needs will help inform the design of future studies, to determine both the extent and potential ecological impacts of microplastic pollution in freshwater and terrestrial environments.
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“meaning that freshwater fish may be exposed to and consume comparable levels of microplastics compared with marine fish.13,15,16”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
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“They appear to be ubiquitous in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems [86] and in the body organs of humans and wildlife [87].”
From Bottled Water: An Evidence-Based Overview of Economic Viability, Environmental Impact, and Social Equity (2023) · cites this paper as [86]
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“Freshwater bodies are important vectors of microplastic movement thought to be involved in transporting the majority of plastic that ends up in marine environments, meaning that freshwater fish may be exposed to and consume comparable levels of microplastics compared with marine fish.13,15,16”
From Microplastics and Anthropogenic Particles in Recreationally Caught Freshwater Fish from an Urbanized Region of the North American Great Lakes (2024) · cites this paper as [15]
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“Furthermore, it remains unclear if adverse effects are caused by a physical impact of the particles themselves, by chemical toxicity or by a combination of both.2”
From Microplastic Effect Thresholds for Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates (2018) · cites this paper as [2]
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In the citing paper
“Field measured concentrations in freshwater sediments2−4,7,8 although often provisional due to methodological limitations, are far below the calculated EC10 or EC50 effect threshold values for G. pulex.”
From Microplastic Effect Thresholds for Freshwater Benthic Macroinvertebrates (2018) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“The magnitude and timing of plastic waste displacement on land is poorly known (Horton et al., 2017) and may be a function of topography, land use, climate, vegetation and, particle shape and size (e.g., microplastics may be more easily transported than larger, more complexly shaped debris).”
From Future Scenarios of Global Plastic Waste Generation and Disposal (2019) · cites this paper as Horton et al., 2017
In the citing paper
“To date, reviews on MPs in the environment have focused on summarizing properties (e.g.Karimi, 2017), sources, fate and occurrence (e.g.Cole et al., 2011;Andrady, 2011;do Sul and Costa, 2014;Auta et al., 2017;Cesa et al., 2017;Horton et al., 2017), concentrations (Horton et al., 2017), analytical methods (e.g.Cole et al., 2011;Hong et al., 2017) and effects on organisms (e.g.Cole et al., 2011;Wr”
From Studies of the Effects of Microplastics on Aquatic Organisms: What Do We Know and Where Should We Focus Our Efforts in the Future? (2018) · cites this paper as Horton et al., 2017
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Citations
Cites
Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
Jambeck, J. R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T. R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R., & Law, K. L. (2015) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1260352 · Cited by 13,163
Microplastics in the marine environment
Andrady, A. L. (2011) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.05.030 · Cited by 8,105
Lost at sea: where is all the plastic?
Thompson, R. C., Olsen, Y., Mitchell, R. P., Davis, A., Rowland, S. J., John, A. W. G., McGonigle, D., & Russell, A. E. (2004) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1094559 · Cited by 7,765
Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments
Barnes, D. K. A., Galgani, F., Thompson, R. C., & Barlaz, M. (2009) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0205 · Cited by 6,126
Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review
Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Halsband, C., & Galloway, T. S. (2011) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.09.025 · Cited by 6,023
Hidalgo-Ruz, V., Gutow, L., Thompson, R. C., & Thiel, M. (2012) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es2031505 · Cited by 5,440
Accumulation of Microplastic on Shorelines Woldwide: Sources and Sinks
Browne, M. A., Crump, P., Niven, S. J., Teuten, E. L., Tonkin, A., Galloway, T. S., & Thompson, R. C. (2011) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/es201811s · Cited by 4,838
Eriksen, M., Lebreton, L. C. M., Carson, H. S., Thiel, M., Moore, C. J., Borerro, J. C., Galgani, F., Ryan, P. G., & Reisser, J. (2014) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111913 · Cited by 4,710
The Physical Impacts of Microplastics on Marine Organisms: A Review
Wright, S. L., Thompson, R. C., & Galloway, T. S. (2013) · Environmental Pollution · doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2013.02.031 · Cited by 4,524
The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review.
Derraik, J. G. B. (2002) · Marine Pollution Bulletin · doi:10.1016/s0025-326x(02)00220-5 · Cited by 4,042
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- European Council, 1999, Directive 1999/31/EC on the landfill of waste, Off. J. Eur. Communities, 182, 1
- Koelmans, 2015, Nanoplastics in the aquatic environment, Crit. Rev., 325
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Alimi, O. S., Farner Budarz, J., Hernandez, L. M., & Tufenkji, N. (2018) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b05559 · Cited by 2,668
Microplastics as an emerging threat to terrestrial ecosystems
Machado, A. A. D. S., Kloas, W., Zarfl, C., Hempel, S., & Rillig, M. C. (2017) · Global Change Biology · doi:10.1111/gcb.14020 · Cited by 2,468
Future Scenarios of Global Plastic Waste Generation and Disposal
Lebreton, L., & Andrady, A. (2019) · Palgrave Communications · doi:10.1057/s41599-018-0212-7 · Cited by 2,327
Li, J., Liu, H., & Chen, J. P. (2017) · Water Research · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2017.12.056 · Cited by 2,432
Microplastics Can Change Soil Properties and Affect Plant Performance
Machado, A. A. D. S., Lau, C. W., Kloas, W., Bergmann, J., Bachelier, J. B., Faltin, E., Becker, R., Görlich, A. S., & Rillig, M. C. (2019) · Environmental Science & Technology · doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b01339 · Cited by 2,225
Metadata
- Authors
- Horton, A. A., Walton, A., Spurgeon, D. J., Lahive, E., & Svendsen, C.
- Affiliations
- Leiden University (NL)
- University of Exeter (GB)
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Horton, Alice A.
- Venue
- Science of The Total Environment
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-05
- Volume
- 586
- Pages
- 127-141
- ISSN
- 0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2583342343
- Cited by
- 3,756
- References
- 175
- Citations by year
- 2026: 391 · 2025: 549 · 2024: 632 · 2023: 552 · 2022: 536 · 2021: 444 · 2020: 351 · 2019: 171 · 2018: 99 · 2017: 26
- FWCI
- 8.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- NERC Open Research Archive (Natural Environment Research Council) (acceptedVersion)
- Leiden Repository (Leiden University) (submittedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- National Capability (NEC05093)
- NERC GW4+ DTP (NE/L002434/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Environmental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology
- Keywords
- microplastics, freshwater ecosystems, terrestrial environment, microplastic composition, microplastic sources, agricultural plastic pollution, microplastic toxicity, knowledge gaps, research priorities
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