The interplay between climate warming driven by greenhouse gas emissions and the ecotoxicological effects of microplastics: Insights from a meta-analysis
Abstract
An increasing number of studies have revealed the interconnections and interactions between global warming and microplastics. However, research in this field is still in its early stages, with fragmented content and inconsistent conclusions. Therefore, this paper adopts a meta-analysis method to summarize and analyze the relevant literature in this area. After screening, a total of 39 research papers and 730 data points related to the interactions between global warming and microplastic pollution were obtained. The research results indicate that, on one hand, soil microplastic pollution significantly increases greenhouse gas CO2 emissions by 140.20%, N2O emissions by 195.27% and Global Warming Potential by 172.10%, thereby exacerbating global warming. By introducing explanatory variables for analysis, it was found that microplastic type, soil type, and soil dissolved organic carbon are important influencing factors. On the other hand, the study also explains that the rise in water temperature due to global warming amplifies the biological toxicity effects of microplastics. By collecting data and conducting a meta-analysis on key physiological indicators of aquatic organisms, such as survival rate and predation rate, as well as critical enzymatic markers like CAT and EROD. Increasing water temperature can lead to oxidative damage and poisoning in aquatic animals. The bidirectional interaction mechanism between microplastic pollution and global warming may form a vicious cycle, further increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems. This study provides a theoretical basis and research direction for addressing the dual threats of microplastic pollution and global warming.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.wh70rxx1n
Description of the data and file structure
We selected the Web of Science Core Collection as the primary source of literature. The search keywords were set as follows: "ALL= (("microplastic*" OR "nanoplastic*") AND ("warm*" OR "climate*" OR "greenhouse gas*" OR "GHG*" OR "CO2*" OR "CH4*" OR "N2O*" OR "temperature*"))". This search was limited to the period from January 1, 2004, to December 5, 2024, resulting in a total of 2945 relevant publications. To ensure the reliability of the research, the selected literature had to meet the following stringent criteria: (1) The study contains the emissions of major greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4) or GWP values before and after the addition of microplastics. (2) The study is required to incorporate data on the physiological activities (survival rate, predatory performance, growth) of aquatic animals and key functional enzymes or markers (CAT, GST, LPO, EROD, AChE) under different temperatures, both in the presence and absence of microplastics. (3) The experiment was designed to be a replicated controlled experiment, with a minimum of two replications and a blank control group, which is a group without the addition of microplastics. (4) The raw data had to be presented in the form of mean ± standard deviation (SD) or mean ± standard error (SE). (5) The study is required to include relevant influencing factors (soil pH, DOC, types of microplastics, and whether they are aged).
Files and variables
File: data.zip
Description: The data includes both raw data and processed data
The raw data includes map data, soil data, and toxicity data. The soil data contains information on three greenhouse gases as well as Global Warming Potential (GWP). The toxicity data includes data on eight physiological and key enzymatic indicators, organized according to different analytical requirements.
The processed data consists of the results from a meta-analysis on the relationship between soil microplastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, including effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals. It also includes the results of meta-analysis reliability tests, such as the fail-safe number and Egger's test. The temperature unit is degrees Celsius (°C), and DOC and TOC units are mg/kg soil.
The empty cells in the uploaded table are filled with “N/A”, representing that the value is not available or not applicable.
All variables (column names) in the Meta-analysis Data. Detailed annotation information is provided below:
Abbreviations Corresponding full forms
| Abbreviations | Corresponding full forms |
|---|---|
| GWP | Global Warming Potential |
| DOC | Dissolved Organic Carbon |
| TOC | Total Organic Carbon |
| EROD | Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase |
| GST | Glutathione S-transferase |
| LPO | Lipid Peroxidation |
| AChE | Acetylcholinesterase |
| CAT | Catalase |
| V | virgin |
| A | aged |
| sd | Standard error |
| main | Arithmetic mean |
Code/software
Effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the “metafor” package in R Studio (version 4.3.3). A mixed-effects model was employed to assess heterogeneity, and subgroup analyses were conducted to evaluate how different soil parameters and microplastic characteristics influence greenhouse gas emissions.
To assess publication bias, funnel plots were used, which help visualize the distribution of studies in a meta-analysis. Symmetry in the funnel plot is a key indicator of the absence of publication bias. Specifically, if the plot is symmetrical and the studies are evenly distributed around the central axis, it suggests no publication bias. In contrast, asymmetry may indicate the presence of such bias. Egger’s regression test was applied for a quantitative assessment. A P-value (P) greater than 0.05 indicates no publication bias, whereas a P-value less than 0.05 suggests its presence. Additionally, the fail-safe number was used as a robustness check. If the fail-safe number exceeds “5N + 10” (where N is the number of studies), the results are considered robust.
Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
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