Microplastics (MP) in marine environments attract widespread attention due to their small particle size and potential hazardous impacts on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Compared to marine sediments, knowledge about the occurrence of MP in freshwater sediments, especially in river sediments, is limited. Although MP concentrations in sediments and soils have been reported in a considerable number of studies, no standardized method is available for sampling and sample processing. Thus, a comparison of results is hardly possible. The present study reviews over 47 articles to evaluate reports of MP in river sediments and current sampling and processing techniques by highlighting various techniques, equipment and approaches for implementing quality assurance and quality control procedures. The authors emphasize that MP quantification techniques could lead to overestimation or underestimation depending on how sampling and sample processing is conducted. Standardization and harmonization of these techniques are crucial to underpin monitoring decisions aimed at safeguarding the ecological integrity of freshwater environments.

海洋环境中的微塑料（MP）由于其较小的粒径以及对水生和陆地生态系统的潜在危险影响而受到广泛关注。与海洋沉积物相比，关于MP在淡水沉积物中（特别是在河流沉积物中）的发生的知识是有限的。尽管已有大量研究报告了沉积物和土壤中MP的浓度，但尚无用于采样和样品处理的标准化方法。因此，结果的比较几乎是不可能的。本研究回顾了47篇文章，重点介绍了用于实施质量保证和质量控制程序的各种技术，设备和方法，以评估河流沉积物中MP的报告以及当前的采样和处理技术。作者强调，MP量化技术可能会导致高估或低估，这取决于进行抽样和样本处理的方式。这些技术的标准化和统一对于加强旨在维护淡水环境生态完整性的监测决策至关重要。