Microplastic pollution extends well beyond oceans into soil ecosystems, but widely used hazard indices produce highly variable risk estimates — there is still no standardised method for assessing how dangerous soil microplastics really are.
A 2026 Frontiers in Environmental Science systematic review mapping a decade of global research on microplastic risk in soils. It traces the shift from descriptive occurrence studies toward mechanistic risk frameworks covering adsorption and transport, soil accumulation, microbial and plant interactions, and human exposure.
