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Occurrence of Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Aquatic and Agroecosystem: A Case Study

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Abstract

A case study was conducted to evaluate the microplastics and heavy metals distribution in Pakistani farmland. Wastewater, soil, and vegetable samples were collected from four locations that received raw effluents for irrigation in the Faisalabad district. The average MPs abundances found in soil was 2790.75 items/kg, FSD-S has higher MPs (3865 items/kg) which is almost 34.62% from the total. However, the highest metal pollution (3.666 mg/kg) was recorded in the FSD-E zone, Cr showed the highest transfer factor about 34.24% in FSD-N in comparison with other sites. This research establishes a benchmark for estimating the environmental harm posed by microplastics and heavy metals in this rapidly emerging field of study.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Department of Horticulture, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan, and all the members of the department of horticulture for their cooperation and help during the research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, 60000, Pakistan

    Tanveer Ahmad & Hammad Hussain

  2. Institute of Horticultural Sciences, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Amjad & Asmat Batool

  3. Fiblast, LLC, 1602 Mizell Road Tuskegee, Alabama, 36083, USA

    Qumer Iqbal

  4. Department of Horiculture, BZU, Multan, 60800, Pakistan

    Anam Noor

  5. Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Jafir

  6. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, People’s Republic of China

    Muhammad Irfan

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  1. Tanveer Ahmad
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  2. Muhammad Amjad
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  3. Qumer Iqbal
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  4. Asmat Batool
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  5. Anam Noor
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  6. Muhammad Jafir
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  7. Hammad Hussain
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  8. Muhammad Irfan
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Correspondence to Muhammad Irfan.

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Ahmad, T., Amjad, M., Iqbal, Q. et al. Occurrence of Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Aquatic and Agroecosystem: A Case Study. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 109, 266–271 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-022-03523-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-022-03523-5

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