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Emerging Risks of Microplastics to Soil Microbial Functions in Rural Agricultural Landscapes
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This review paper pulls together existing research showing that tiny plastic particles building up in farm soils are disrupting the microbes that keep soil healthy—these microbes normally break down organic matter, cycle nutrients, and keep soil fertile for growing food. When microplastics harm these microbial communities, it can weaken soil quality over time, which matters because healthy soil is the foundation for the food we eat and long-term farming sustainability.
Plastic particles less than 5 mm have become a prominent pollutant of the environment, especially in terrestrial ecologies, making microplastics a significant pollutant.Their deposition in soils leads to changes in the physical, chemical and biological makeup of the environment creating a great risk to the microbial populations of soils.This review is on the impact of microplastics on the soil microbes that are crucial in nutrient cycling, decomposing organic matter, and soil fertility.Microplastics affects the microbial diversity, abundance, decrease enzymatic activities, and alter their metabolic pathways.The microplastic particles also impair soil structure and aeration which in turn establishes poor environment on which microbes can thrive.The study of such interactions is important in determining the long-term effects on soil health and sustainability of the ecosystem.The critical importance of the development measures that could reduce the impact of microplastic pollution by preserving functionality of the microbial communities.
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Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: An Emerging Threat to Soil Health, Microbial Ecology, Crop Productivity, and Food Safety
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This review examines how microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils from sources like plastic mulch, sewage sludge, and atmospheric deposition. Researchers found that these particles can disrupt soil microbial communities, harm plant health, and potentially enter the human food chain. The study highlights the urgent need for mitigation strategies to address this growing but often overlooked form of pollution in farmland.
Microplastic: Evaluating the Impact on Soil-Microbes and Plant System
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This review examines how microplastics affect soil microbial communities and plant systems in agricultural settings, documenting impacts on soil health, microbial diversity, and crop physiology. As microplastics accumulate in farmland soils through irrigation, sludge application, and plastic mulches, their effects on the soil ecosystem that underpins food production are a growing concern.
Microplastics as an Emerging Environmental Pollutant in Agricultural Soils: Effects on Ecosystems and Human Health
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This review examines how microplastics enter and move through agricultural soil ecosystems, affecting soil properties, nutrient cycling, and the organisms that live in and depend on healthy soil. Researchers found that microplastics can alter key biogeochemical processes and interact with co-existing pollutants like heavy metals and pesticides, potentially compounding their harmful effects. The study highlights the need for prevention and control strategies as microplastic contamination of farmland becomes an increasingly recognized environmental and potential human health concern.
From soil disruption to biodegradation: A comprehensive review of microplastic effects and microbial breakdown mechanisms in terrestrial ecosystems
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This review pulls together existing research showing that tiny plastic particles in farm soil disrupt nutrients like phosphorus and harm the beneficial microbes plants need to grow, which can weaken crop health and soil fertility over time. Since these microplastics can also travel up the food chain into what we eat, this matters for human health, and the researchers point to promising fixes like using helpful soil microbes to break down plastics and restore soil balance.
Microplastics in agroecosystems: A review of effects on soil biota and key soil functions
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This review examines how microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soils affects soil organisms and ecological functions. Researchers found that plastics enter farmland through multiple pathways including plastic mulch, sewage sludge, and irrigation water, and once present they alter soil properties and exhibit toxic behavior toward soil biota. The study identifies significant knowledge gaps about the long-term impacts of microplastic accumulation on agricultural productivity and food safety.
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