Microplastic pollution as an environmental risk exacerbating the greenhouse effect and climate change: a review

作者：Kui Li, Linsen Du, Chanyuan Qin, Nanthi Bolan, Hailong Wang, Hua Wang, Hua Wang, Hua Wang · 发表于：Carbon Research · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1007/s44246-023-00097-7 · 被引用次数：98 · 研究领域：Microplastics and Plastic Pollution、biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties、Recycling and Waste Management Techniques

Abstract Microplastics are polymer-based materials with carbon as their main framework. During degradation, they release greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. Additionally, environmental microplastics can enter plant tissues, triggering oxidative stress in plant cells, adversely affecting photosynthesis, metabolism, gene expression, and other growth parameters. This reduction in plant efficiency in sequestering and utilizing atmospheric carbon dioxide indirectly impacts global carbon cycling, exacerbating the global greenhouse effect. Furthermore, environmental microplastics significantly alter soil structure and the composition of microbial communities, affecting the emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, thus indirectly promoting greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing research suggests a mutual reinforcement between microplastic pollution and global climate warming, where microplastic pollution exacerbates global climate warming, and the rise in global average temperature leads to the resuspension of microplastics in sediments, intensifying microplastic pollution in the environment. This article primarily focuses on the impacts of environmental microplastic pollution on different ecosystems and the relationship between microplastic pollution and global climate warming. It summarizes the effects of microplastic pollution on greenhouse gas emissions in marine, terrestrial, and atmospheric ecosystems, as well as the mecha...