Aydin Senar, Mucevher Osman, Ulvi Arzu, Beduk Fatma, Aydin Mehmet Emin, Merken Ozen, Uzun Cihan
Department of Environmental Engineering, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Türkiye.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Konya Soil, Water and Deserting Control Research Institute, Konya, Türkiye.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2025 Apr;32(20):12340-12359. doi: 10.1007/s11356-025-36452-x. Epub 2025 Apr 29.
Microplastic (MP) pollution in agroecosystems is a growing concern with unknown consequences for sustainable agricultural activities. Few studies have revealed MPs in soil as a result of wastewater irrigation, despite the increasing application of wastewater irrigation and inadequacy of conventional wastewater treatment plants in removing microplastics (MPs). In this study, the effect of treated wastewater (TWW) irrigation on MPs accumulation in agricultural soils of Konya City (in Türkiye) and the potential risks on agricultural ecosystem were investigated. For this purpose, 202 soil samples taken from 90 TWW irrigated lands and 11 non-agricultural control lands, at depths of 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm, were analyzed for color, shape, and polymer type. The risk level of MPs pollution was determined by the pollution factor (CF), pollution load index (PLI), and polymer risk index (H). The relationship between some physico-chemical properties of the soil and MPs pollution level was also analyzed. The findings of this study revealed a significant difference (P < 0.0001) in the MP count in the TWW irrigated soils, and control soils. While the average numbers of MPs for control soils were 169 ± 46.8 MPs/kg (100-220 MPs/kg) and 140 ± 44.7 MPs/kg (80-240 MPs/kg) for the 0-10 cm and 10-20 cm soil depths, respectively; 329 ± 139.5 MPs/kg (100-840 MPs/kg) and 295 ± 115.4 MPs/kg (80-660 MPs/kg) were identified for TWW irrigated soil samples taken from the same soil depths. Fiber, film, and fragment type MPs were found to be dominant polymer types in TWW irrigated soil, with 56%, 23%, and 16%, respectively. Transparent colored MPs were predominant. MP decreased from 0-10 cm to 10-20 cm depths. Most of the samples were significantly contaminated with MPs (3 ≤ CF < 6), categorized in hazard category class I (PLI < 10). The findings of this study indicate that TWW irrigation increases the accumulation of MPs in agricultural soils, which poses a higher risk to more fertile soils with higher organic matter, total nitrogen, and available phosphorus content. Hazard index assessments reveal that the soils of Konya, often referred to as the "granary of Türkiye," are at risk of MPs contamination. The findings showed that MPs, a neglected type of pollution for soil, will become an even more important problem with increasing wastewater irrigation.
农业生态系统中的微塑料（MP）污染日益受到关注，其对可持续农业活动的影响尚不明朗。尽管废水灌溉的应用日益广泛，且传统污水处理厂在去除微塑料方面存在不足，但很少有研究揭示废水灌溉导致土壤中存在微塑料。在本研究中，调查了经处理的废水（TWW）灌溉对土耳其科尼亚市农业土壤中微塑料积累的影响以及对农业生态系统的潜在风险。为此，从90块TWW灌溉土地和11块非农业对照土地采集了202个土壤样本，深度为0 - 10厘米和10 - 20厘米，分析了其颜色、形状和聚合物类型。通过污染因子（CF）、污染负荷指数（PLI）和聚合物风险指数（H）确定微塑料污染的风险水平。还分析了土壤的一些物理化学性质与微塑料污染水平之间的关系。本研究结果表明，TWW灌溉土壤和对照土壤中的微塑料数量存在显著差异（P < 0.0001）。对照土壤在0 - 10厘米和10 - 20厘米土壤深度的微塑料平均数量分别为169 ± 46.8个/千克（100 - 220个/千克）和140 ± 44.7个/千克（80 - 240个/千克）；而从相同土壤深度采集的TWW灌溉土壤样本中，微塑料数量分别为329 ± 139.5个/千克（100 - 840个/千克）和295 ± 115.4个/千克（80 - 660个/千克）。纤维、薄膜和碎片型微塑料被发现是TWW灌溉土壤中的主要聚合物类型，分别占56%、23%和16%。透明颜色的微塑料占主导。微塑料数量从0 - 10厘米深度到10 - 20厘米深度减少。大多数样本受到微塑料的显著污染（3 ≤ CF < 6），属于危害类别I（PLI < 10）。本研究结果表明，TWW灌溉会增加农业土壤中微塑料的积累，这对有机质、总氮和有效磷含量较高的更肥沃土壤构成更高风险。危害指数评估表明，常被称为“土耳其粮仓”的科尼亚市土壤存在微塑料污染风险。研究结果表明，微塑料作为一种被忽视的土壤污染类型，随着废水灌溉的增加将成为一个更加重要的问题。
