Spatial analysis of the influence on "microplastic communities" in the water at a medium scale

Biao Wang; Xiaofei Chen; Xiong Xiong; Weiju Wu; Qiankun He; Hongjuan Hu; Chenxi Wu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163788

Spatial analysis of the influence on "microplastic communities" in the water at a medium scale

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Aug 10:885:163788. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163788. Epub 2023 May 4.

Authors

Biao Wang¹, Xiaofei Chen², Xiong Xiong³, Weiju Wu², Qiankun He², Hongjuan Hu⁴, Chenxi Wu⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China; College of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Hubei Academy of Environmental Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China. Electronic address: xxiong@ihb.ac.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, China.

PMID: 37149188
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163788

Abstract

The issue of microplastics in freshwater has been growing in concern. Besides their abundance, the characteristics of microplastics are also important issues. The concept of "microplastic communities" has been utilized to assess differences in microplastic characteristics. In this study, we utilized the "microplastic community" approach to evaluate the impact of land use on microplastic characteristics in water at a provincial scale in China. The abundance of microplastics in water bodies in Hubei Province varied between 0.33 items/L and 5.40 items/L, with an average of 1.74 items/L. Microplastics were significantly more abundant in rivers than in lakes and reservoirs, and their abundance was negatively correlated with the distance from the nearest residential district of sampling sites. Similarities of microplastic communities were significantly different in mountainous and plain areas. Anthropogenic surfaces increased microplastic abundance and tended to decrease the size of microplastics, whereas natural vegetation had the opposite effect. The effect of land use on microplastic community similarity was greater than that of geographic distance. However, spatial scale limits the effect of various factors on microplastic community similarity. This study revealed the comprehensive influence of land use on microplastic characteristics in water and emphasized the importance of spatial scale in the study of microplastic characteristics.

Keywords: Community; Distribution; Freshwater; Land use; Microplastic.