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REVIEW PAPER
Research Progress on Sources and Ecological
Effects of Microplastics in Sediments
1
College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
2
Key Laboratory of Karst Geological Resources and Environment, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Guiyang
Submission date: 2024-04-28
Final revision date: 2024-08-08
Acceptance date: 2024-12-15
Online publication date: 2025-03-10
Publication date: 2026-01-30
Corresponding author
Zhenming Zhang
College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
College of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2026;35(1):999-1009
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants in environmental media that scholars worldwide
have been widely concerned about. MPs in terrestrial ecosystems are transported through runoff to
other freshwater systems and oceans and are widely distributed in water bodies and sediments. Owing
to limitations in detection technology, complexities in sampling, and high research costs, research
on MPs in sediments is relatively scarce, with existing research mainly focusing on the occurrence
characteristics of MPs in water bodies. There is a need to assess the contamination levels of MPs in
sediments and their potential impacts on benthic organisms and ecosystems by studying microplastics
in sediments, investigating the mechanisms of migration and transformation of microplastics in
sediments, and supporting the development of effective strategies for pollution prevention and control.
On this basis, the present article deeply reviews the research progress on the sources, occurrence
characteristics, and ecological effects of MPs in sediments, analyzes the impacts of MPs in different
sedimentary environments, summarizes issues that need to be addressed, and looks forward to
future research directions, to provide a theoretical reference for subsequent pollution control and risk
assessment of MPs in sediments.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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