Spatial-temporal distribution and fluxes of microplastics in Jiulong River basin

Weixu QIAN; Huatai LIU; Xiaoya LIU; Rui YAO; Yue WU; Libo WU; Dongdong CHENG; Xinhong WANG

doi:10.1007/s00343-024-3238-2

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Spatial-temporal distribution and fluxes of microplastics in Jiulong River basin

Micro- and nano-plastics in freshwater environments | Updated：2025-03-21

- Spatial-temporal distribution and fluxes of microplastics in Jiulong River basin
- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology Vol. 43, Issue 2, Pages: 360-371(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  1.College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361000, China
  2.Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems (Xiamen University), Ministry of Education, Xiamen 361000, China
  3.State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science (Xiamen University), Xiamen 361000, China
- Author bio：
  
  lht@xmu.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-024-3238-2
  CLC：
- Received：08 November 2023，
  
  Online First：19 January 2024，
  
  Published：01 March 2025
- Accepted：
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QIAN Weixu,LIU Huatai,LIU Xiaoya,et al.Spatial-temporal distribution and fluxes of microplastics in Jiulong River basin[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(02):360-371.
DOI：

QIAN Weixu,LIU Huatai,LIU Xiaoya,et al.Spatial-temporal distribution and fluxes of microplastics in Jiulong River basin[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2025,43(02):360-371. DOI： 10.1007/s00343-024-3238-2.

摘要

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pollution has emerged as a critical global environmental issue

for which rivers serve as key conduits for the transport of MPs from land to ocean. There remained a lack of clarity regarding the characteristics and transport patterns of MPs pollution in diverse environmental media and seasons within a river basin. The Jiulong River basin in Fujian

southeast China was studied as case

whose spatial-temporal distribution

pollution characteristics

and transport dynamics of MPs in both surface water and groundwater were analyzed. Additionally

the features of MPs in different land use types during the dry season were examined. Results show that in wet season

the abundance of MPs in river water varied from 840 to 12 300 p/m

with an average of 3 920 p/m

; in groundwater

the range was 740–1 820 p/m

averaging 1 107 p/m

; and from 68 to 951 p/kg

with an average value of 265 p/kg in the soil (dry weight). In dry season

levels of MP

s in river water ranged from 580 to 8 880 p/m

with an average of 4 034 p/m

; groundwater exhibited a range of 860–14 980 p/m

averaging 3 453 p/m

. Fibers consistently dominated the morphology of MPs

of which polyethylene terephthalate was identified as the predominant composition in each environmental medium. Our findings underscore the spatial and temporal variability in distribution and contamination characteristics of MPs across different media. Notably

MPs abundance in river water and groundwater exhibited a seasonal pattern

being higher in levels in dry season than in wet season. The downstream transport of MPs was facilitated by surface runoff

in which MPs in groundwater and surface water could complement to each other. Furthermore

population density and human activities were identified as influential factors on the distribution and abundance of MPs. This study revealed the order of magnitude of difference in annual estimates of MPs entering the sea among different models. Additionally

the interception volume by mangrove forest in the Jiulong River estuary was estimated approximately 1.51×10

MPs particles per year. Ecological interception shall be considered when estimating the fluxes of MPs into the sea.

关键词

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references

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