On February 10,SciencepublishedonlineaLettersarticletitled‘Soilmicroplasticspollution inagriculture’by the researchgroupof Li Zhongfen,aprofessor from the School of Remote SensingandInformation Engineering at Wuhan University. The papershows howsoil microplastics are threatening agriculture and human health, andappeals torelated stakeholders, including government departments, non-government organizations, scientists, and the field of industry, to take comprehensive actionsto alleviate the damage.
He Liuyue, a post-doctoralfellowfrom the School of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering at Wuhan University, is the first author,andXu Zhenci,aprofessor from the Department of Geography at the University of Hong Kong, is the corresponding author. The signatory unit is the School of Remote SensingandInformation Engineering of Wuhan University.The article waspublishedasthe coverarticleof Letters ofthe same issue.
According to thearticle, the demand for agricultural plasticsisexpected to increase by 50% by 2030. The microplastics produced when agricultural plastics break down will enter the human body through the food chain and water circulation. Microplasticsarealready found in human intestines, lungs, blood, brains, and breast milk. These exterior substances will cause rejections and inflammation of human tissues,severelyharmingagricultural production and human health. Thearticlecalls for actions,including quantifying the amount of microplastics in global farmland soils (such as using satellite remote sensing), limiting the maximum amount of agricultural plastics used, encouraging the use of biodegradable plastics, andpassing regulatorylegislation,in order to providesolutions to soil microplastics pollution and problems with sustainable agricultural production.
Li Zhongfen,ahigh-level talent introduced by theSchoolof Remote SensingandInformation Engineering in 2021, and his research group have conducted long-term researchon remote sensing, ecology,thewater-energy-food-forest-carbon bond, climate change and its impacts, and sustainable development.
Link to the paper:https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adf6098
Rewritten by Jiang Hanjun
Edited by Xie Anqing,Sylvia,XiBingqing
