Microplastics in Agricultural Systems: Analytical Methodologies and Effects on Soil Quality and Crop Yield

Around one million metric ton of plastics is produced worldwide daily. Plastic contamination aggravated when the particles reach sizes between 5 mm and 1 μm, giving rise to microplastics, which are omnipresent in environment, especially agroecosystems. To appreciate magnitude this problem, review analyzes 177 scientific works focus on occurrence effects microplastics agricultural soils. Firstly, sources, behavior fate agroecosystems evaluated. Then, absence a standard methodology for study farmland soils, procedures have been employed microplastic separation (density floatation 73% discussed works), identification quantification (stereomicroscopy, 77%; infrared analysis, 62%) addressed provide practical work guideline. Finally, we highlight interaction soil microbiota, fauna vegetation (negative reported 83% cases), including crop production (decrease growth parameters 63% reports). From review, it can be inferred that may disrupt biophysical environment soil, potentially leading economic losses their entrance into trophic food chain, affecting human feeding health.