Identification of microplastics in desert and pristine areas indicates the spread, overuse, and mismanagement of plastics in the environment.

Humans are known to consume the tiny plastic particles via food and water, but the possible health effects on people and ecosystems have yet to be determined.

Microplastics found in the soil come from plastic waste, plastic-based mulch, the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer, river floods, road runoff, irrigation water, and atmospheric sediment.

Accordingly, researchers of Kerman University of Medical Sciences studied the soil of Kalout Shahdad and Lut deserts for microplastic presence.

The number of MPs identified in 300 g samples ranged from zero (not detected) in several yardang tops to 25 on some yardang hillsides, with an overall average abundance of about 0.02 MP g–1.

The majority of MPs were of a fibrous nature with a size distribution (≤100 μm to ≥1000 μm) skewed toward the lower end, and analysis of a selection of particles by μ-Raman spectroscopy showed that polyethylene terephthalate and Nylon (polyamide) were the principal polymers.

Scanning electron microscopy revealed intense degradation of some particles but limited weathering of others. With little evidence of meso- and macroplastics in the deserts, it appears that the majority of MPs are brought into these environments from distant sources via the wind, with smaller, seasonal contributions from runoff associated with the adjacent mountains.

It is proposed that some windborne MPs are transported through the deserts relatively rapidly, while others are subject to internal recycling and significant photo-oxidation and mechanical weathering.

Research by the National University of Singapore found more than 400 types of bacteria on 275 pieces of microplastic collected from local beaches. They included bugs that cause gastroenteritis and wound infections in humans, as well as those linked to the bleaching of coral reefs.

Defined as smaller than 5mm in size, microplastics are shed by synthetic clothing, vehicle tires, and the spillage of plastic pellets used by manufacturers. The physical breakdown of plastic litter also creates them. Rain washes them into rivers and the sea, but they can also be blown by the wind and end up in fields when treated sewage waste is used as fertilizer.

Hundreds of studies also show that plastic bags and packaging are the deadliest plastic materials in the oceans, killing marine organisms such as whales, dolphins, turtles, and seabirds around the globe.

————- Plastic pollution

Plastic pollution is getting the whole world in hot water. In Iran, a total of 4 million plastic waste is generated annually.

Plastic bags constitute half a million tons of the whole plastic waste produced in the country annually. Every Iranian consumes an average of three plastic bags a day, 96 percent of which goes directly into the trash bin.

According to the World Population Review 2021, Iran is ranked 17th in the production of plastic waste.

The report also claims that approximately 500 billion plastic bags are used worldwide, and plastic pollution is a global catastrophe caused by humans.

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Technical and executive guidelines on desert rehabilitation have been prepared based on the latest scientific achievements and experiences of successful projects in the country and the world, he stated.

Studying, identifying, and managing the phenomenon of desertification and controlling wind erosion in the desert areas of the country are among our tasks, he explained, ISNA reported on Sunday.

Using windbreaks, planting, care, and irrigation, reforested forest management, runoff management, protection, and seeding were among the plans implemented since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21), he said.

According to Jafarian, the most important approach of these guidelines is defined based on the participation of people.

Annually, about 25,000 hectares of land undergo reforestation in Iran, which is more than twice the annual deforestation. However, the reforested land may not have the same biodiversity and vegetation as the original forests.

Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation. Reforestation can be used to rectify or improve the quality of human life by soaking up pollution and dust from the air, rebuild natural habitats and ecosystems, mitigate global warming since forests facilitate biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and harvest for resources, particularly timber, but also non-timber forest products.

Nonetheless, the reestablishment of forests is not just simple tree planting. Forests are made up of a community of species and they build dead organic matter into soils over time.

Last year, Reza Bayani an official with Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization, said between 2015 and 2020, approximately 12,000 hectares of forests across the country wiped out annually.

He went on to say that the country’s forests are estimated at 14.3 million hectares, lamenting, deforestation occurs for a variety of reasons, including dam construction, road construction, fire, and wood smuggling.

Iran, like many other countries in West Asia, is primarily made up of arid deserts, while compared to nearby Saudi Arabia (95% desert), Turkmenistan (80% desert), and Iraq (40% desert), only about 23 percent of its land area is covered with desert areas.

Why deserts need protection?

Deserts are topographic landscapes that receive little precipitation in a typical year. The threshold is 10 inches or 25cm. But more than simply having low rainfall, a desert is “arid”, which means a high rate of water loss through plant reclamation (called transpiration) and through evaporation.

Deserts will differ depending on their climate and location and their overall aridity can influence many things, not least of all the ecology, food chain, plant and animal types. High evaporation leaves behind higher salt levels, affecting further which plants can grow and the individual size and the numbers of herbivores that may feed on them and, in turn, carnivores.

Some experience vast temperature fluctuations, especially hot deserts which may reach unbearable heat during the day and extreme cold at night. This is because the rock and sand absorb heat during the day and release it at night. There may also be an extreme variation between warm and cool seasons, including extreme winds and storms due to the mixing of cold and warm air.

Deserts are vitally important to the planetary ecosystem. They cover approximately 1/3 of the dry land of our planet. They are also amongst the most fragile and endangered biomes.

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