Foreword to the research front on 'Microplastics in Soils'
Knowledge about the transport of microplastics in soils is necessary to correctly assess their possible transfer to ground and surface waters as well as their impact in the soils themselves. Microplastics mostly enter soils from the surface, but little is known about their later distribution and fate. Yu et al. (2019) explore whether biogenic activities can be a pathway for microplastics to be transported in soils and into groundwater, and conclude that biogenic activities need to be considered in microplastic dynamics in soil systems. The role of microplastics as vectors for organic micropollutants has been widely studied in aquatic systems, but much less so in soils. Rodriguez Seijo et al. (2019) investigate whether earthworms (Eisenia fetida) could be carriers of pesticides in these media. Interestingly, they could not demonstrate thatmicroplastics can be carriers of pesticides to earthworms, but found that these organisms avoided pesticide contaminated microplastics. CSIRO PUBLISHING