About this Research Topic
Plastic pollution has become an immense burden on our environment. Indeed, microplastics (i.e., pieces of plastics < 5 mm) are ubiquitous in the marine environment, and uptake of microplastics has been documented in many organisms. However, while microplastics have been extensively studied in the marine environment, studies on freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems are limited with only about 4% of published studies relating to terrestrial ecosystems. Moreover, it is still debated whether microplastics cause any harmful effects in living systems.
While exposure to microplastics is inevitable owing to the unlimited production and release of plastics into our environment, it is still not fully understood if these tiny particles produce any significant and immediate adverse impact upon the health of living organisms. Furthermore, we still do not know the level of exposure to microplastics that is required to cause a significant adverse impact upon the health of terrestrial ecosystems. The present research topic aims to bring together a collection of articles on microplastics contamination and identification of their potential toxicity pathways in the biotic and abiotic components of terrestrial ecosystems.
Original research articles, brief research reports, reviews, methods articles, and perspectives relating to the following topics are welcome.
This collection is focused on but not limited to the following topics relating to microplastics pollution and exposure assessment in terrestrial ecosystems:
1. Identification and characterization of microplastics from various terrestrial matrices
2. Microplastics transport and fate in different matrices of the terrestrial ecosystems
3. Exposure assessment of microplastics in different terrestrial biota
4. Determination of LC50 values for microplastics
5. Standardization of sampling and assessment techniques used for microplastics
While exposure to microplastics is inevitable owing to the unlimited production and release of plastics into our environment, it is still not fully understood if these tiny particles produce any significant and immediate adverse impact upon the health of living organisms. Furthermore, we still do not know the level of exposure to microplastics that is required to cause a significant adverse impact upon the health of terrestrial ecosystems. The present research topic aims to bring together a collection of articles on microplastics contamination and identification of their potential toxicity pathways in the biotic and abiotic components of terrestrial ecosystems.
Original research articles, brief research reports, reviews, methods articles, and perspectives relating to the following topics are welcome.
This collection is focused on but not limited to the following topics relating to microplastics pollution and exposure assessment in terrestrial ecosystems:
1. Identification and characterization of microplastics from various terrestrial matrices
2. Microplastics transport and fate in different matrices of the terrestrial ecosystems
3. Exposure assessment of microplastics in different terrestrial biota
4. Determination of LC50 values for microplastics
5. Standardization of sampling and assessment techniques used for microplastics
Keywords: biotic components, abiotic components, polymers, fragments, films, microplastics, non-degradable, persistent pollutants
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
