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Studies on the impact of aged microplastics on agricultural soil enzyme activity, lettuce growth, and oxidative stress
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This study examined how aged microplastics from three common plastics (polystyrene, polyethylene, and polylactic acid) affect soil health and lettuce growth. Researchers found that high concentrations of biodegradable PLA plastic actually reduced lettuce weight by over 58%, while all three plastic types triggered oxidative stress in the plants. The results show that even so-called eco-friendly biodegradable plastics can harm crops and soil when they accumulate at higher levels.
Microplastics (MPs) represent an increasingly significant source of pollution, with their ubiquitous presence not only contaminating soil but also influencing plant growth. To elucidate the effects of MPs on soil-plant systems, this study examined the impact of exposure to aged polystyrene (PS), polyethylene, and polylactic acid (PLA) MPs at varying concentrations (0.1%, 1%, 5%, and 10%) on soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, lettuce growth, and oxidative stress conditions in a pot experiment. The results indicated that high concentrations (5% and 10%) of PLA increased soil urease activity by 18.27% and 23.57%, respectively, whereas PS reduced it by 12.02% and 27.15%, respectively, compared to the control. High concentrations (5% and 10%) of PLA reduced the fresh weight of lettuce leaves and roots by 58.38-61.08% and 49.20-51.68%, respectively. The addition of all three MPs increased the soluble sugar content in lettuce leaves by 34.10-65.30%. The presence of all three types of MPs significantly enhanced catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in lettuce leaves at concentrations of 0.1%, 1%, and 5%, with the greatest increase in SOD activity (26.06-31.34%) observed at the 5% concentration. Root CAT activity was elevated at low concentrations (0.1% and 1%), whereas 10% PLA significantly suppressed both CAT and SOD activities. Integrated biomarker response analysis showed that MPs induced oxidative stress in lettuce. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the potential ecological risks posed by MPs to the soil-plant system.
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Responses of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) growth and soil properties to conventional non-biodegradable and new biodegradable microplastics
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Scientists compared the effects of biodegradable and conventional polyethylene microplastics on lettuce growth and soil health. Both types of microplastics reduced plant growth, damaged photosynthesis, and altered soil nutrient levels, but biodegradable PBAT microplastics actually caused more disruption to soil microbial communities. The findings challenge the assumption that biodegradable plastics are necessarily safer for agricultural ecosystems.
Effects of Biodegradable Microplastics on Soil and Lettuce Health: Rhizosphere Microbiome and Metabolome Responses
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Researchers tested how two common biodegradable microplastics affect lettuce growth and the microbial communities around its roots. At higher concentrations, both types of biodegradable plastics inhibited lettuce growth and significantly disrupted the balance of beneficial soil microbes and plant metabolic processes. The findings suggest that even plastics marketed as biodegradable can negatively impact soil health and crop development when present in sufficient quantities.
Effects of polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene microplastics on the soil-rhizosphere-plant system: Phytotoxicity, enzyme activity, and microbial community
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Researchers tested how three common types of microplastics (polystyrene, polyethylene, and polypropylene) affect lettuce growth and soil health. All three types inhibited plant growth, disrupted antioxidant systems in the leaves, and altered the microbial communities in the soil around roots, with polystyrene and polypropylene causing the most disturbance.
Biodegradable microplastics induce profound changes in lettuce (Lactuca sativa) defense mechanisms and to some extent deteriorate growth traits
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Researchers tested the effects of biodegradable plastic microplastics on lettuce growth and found that while the plants still grew, the microplastics caused significant stress at the cellular level. The plastic particles reduced chlorophyll content, triggered oxidative stress, and forced plants to activate their defense mechanisms, which affected their weight and nutrient content. This challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are harmless to crops and raises questions about food quality from microplastic-contaminated soil.
Aging increases the phytotoxicity of polyethylene and polypropylene to Lactuca Sativa L. compared to original microplastics
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This study found that microplastics from polyethylene and polypropylene become more toxic to lettuce plants after aging in the environment, reducing plant growth by roughly 25-28% compared to fresh plastic particles. The aged plastics disrupted the soil around plant roots, blocking nutrient absorption and interfering with key metabolic processes. This matters because most microplastics in farm soil have been weathered over time, meaning their real-world effects on food crops may be worse than lab studies using new plastics suggest.
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