Microplastic Characteristics in Equus kiang (Tibetan Wild Ass) Feces and Soil on the Southern Tibetan Plateau, China

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants, and limited research has focused on their exposure to terrestrial wildlife and transport mode on the remote Tibetan Plateau (TP). Therefore, we investigated MPs in the southern soil and feces of Equus kiang (Tibetan wild ass), a species peculiar to the TP...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2023-07, Vol.57 (26), p.9732-9743
Main Authors: Liu, Xuke, Cheng, Peng, Zhou, Jie, Fan, Yukun, Fu, Yunchong, Tan, Liangcheng, Lan, Jianghu, Zhang, Luyuan, Gu, Huachun, Bi, Yanting
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Chain transfer
China
Copolymers
Environmental Monitoring
Equidae
Equus kiang
Feces
Food chains
Human settlements
Humans
Meadows
Microplastics
Occurrence, Fate, and Transport of Aquatic and Terrestrial Contaminants
Plastic pollution
Plastics
Polyurethane
Polyurethane resins
Polyurethanes
Silicones
Soil
Soil pollution
Soils
Tibet
Wildlife
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Summary:Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants, and limited research has focused on their exposure to terrestrial wildlife and transport mode on the remote Tibetan Plateau (TP). Therefore, we investigated MPs in the southern soil and feces of Equus kiang (Tibetan wild ass), a species peculiar to the TP, which is known as the “third pole.” We found that MP median abundances were 102 and 4.01 particles/g of dry feces and soil, respectively. In both media, the MP morphology mainly comprised ∼50 μm slender fibrous particles. In total, 29 MP types were identified in the feces, compared to 26 types in the soil. Among them, the acrylate copolymer (35.9%) and polyurethane (24.9%) were predominant in the feces, while polyurethane (22.5%) and silicone (20.4%) were predominant in the soil. After ingesting MPs at one location, E. kiang may become a source of MP pollution when moving to other meadows on the TP. The potential MP transport flux of a herd of 20 kiangs has been estimated at 1736 particles m–2 a–1. A unique “source–sink–source” MP transport model comprising an “atmospheric deposition–vegetation–feces–atmosphere” cycle on the TP was observed based on atmospheric transport simulations and terrestrial food chain transfer processes. Owing to human settlements in south and East Asia adjacent to the TP, atmospheric long-distance transmission is an essential route for MPs to enter the TP.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.3c00582