Review A methodological approach of the current literature on microplastic contamination in terrestrial environments: Current knowledge and baseline considerations Diana Carolina Dioses-Salinas ⁎, Carlos Ivan Pizarro-Ortega, Gabriel Enrique De-la-Torre Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima, Peru HIGHLIGHTS • MPs abundance in soil depend on the source, site characteristic and methods used. • Reporting the MP types and chemical classification is mandatory. • Heterogeneity of methods used in liter- ature make results incomparable. • Novel methods need to overcome im- portant frontiers and challenges. • Minimal standards along the extraction and identification procedure are suggested. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT abstract article info Article history: Received 11 March 2020 Received in revised form 29 April 2020 Accepted 30 April 2020 Available online 04 May 2020 Editor: Fang Wang Keywords: Microplastic Terrestrial Agricultural soil Extraction method Polymer identification Plastic pollution Plastic pollution is one of the major challenges in the Anthropocene. A plastic waste sub-product, microplastics (b5 mm), has been regarded as contaminants of concern for its detrimental effects and widespread in the envi- ronment. Most studies assessing microplastics focused on marine environments, while terrestrial and soil sys- tems have been overlooked. In this review, we analyzed the current knowledge regarding microplastic pollution in natural soil or agricultural ecosystems. We focused on reviewing the procedural steps for microplastic extraction and identification in detail. The heterogeneity of the methods applied, lack of standard- ized procedures and incompatible parameters reported, make the results incomparable among most studies. Sev- eral microplastic concentration units are needed to make studies comparable. Correctly determining and reporting microplastic morphotypes are key to understanding the sources of contamination. Minimal consider- ations and recommendations were stated for extraction, digestion, filtration, and polymer identification proce- dures. Baseline contamination prevention measures were identified as mandatory along the entire sampling, handling and identification procedures. Lastly, knowledge gaps were identified and discussed for further research. © 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. Science of the Total Environment 730 (2020) 139164 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Faculty of Engineering, Av. la Fontana 501, La Molina, Lima, Peru. E-mail address: diana.dioses@usil.pe (D.C. Dioses-Salinas). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139164 0048-9697/© 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv