Critical review of environmental impacts of microfibers in different environmental matrices

Abstract

Microfibers, as globally emerging environmental pollutants, have received increasing attention over recent years. In ecosystems, natural textile microfibers are the predominant fibers. The inadvertent ingestion of microplastics by organisms in an ecosystem provides a channel for microfibers to enter biological webs. Based on existing research on microfibers, this review summarizes the potential adverse impacts of microfibers on organisms living in marine, freshwater, and soil ecosystems, and provides a brief introduction to the source of microfibers, as well as the related current status and future challenges. Although previous studies have recorded the adverse effects of microfibers on ecosystems, there remains a lack of evidence on the toxic effects of microfibers on the primary producer level in food chains (e.g., phytoplankton). This is essential, as the long-term effects of microfiber toxicity on different ecosystems ultimately affect human health. The analysis of microfiber toxicity paves the way for the field of environmental research and provides future perspectives for researchers in the fields of ecotoxicology and microplastics.