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Data for a global meta-analysis of microplastic effects on fauna, plants, and soils
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Scientists compiled a massive dataset from published studies to see how microplastics (tiny plastic particles) affect animals, plants, and soil around the world, looking at things like growth, reproduction, and behavior. This particular release is the underlying data and methods, not new findings itself, but it lays the groundwork for a larger analysis of microplastic harm to ecosystems that humans depend on for food and clean environments. By making this data open and reusable, researchers can more reliably track how widespread plastic pollution is reshaping the natural world, an important step toward understanding risks that could eventually circle back to human health.
This dataset supports a global meta-analysis examining the effects of microplastics on fauna, plants, and soils across different ecosystems. It contains the extracted study information, effect-size data, moderator variables, and relevant environmental and biological characteristics compiled from published literature. The dataset was used to quantify microplastic impacts on faunal growth, reproduction, behavior, and functional performance; plant growth and photosynthesis; and soil biogeochemical and physical properties. It also includes the data required to reproduce the statistical analyses and figures reported in the associated manuscript. All data were checked for consistency and organized to facilitate transparency, reproducibility, and future reuse. The dataset does not contain personal or confidential information.
More Papers Like This
Data for a global meta-analysis of microplastic effects on fauna, plants, and soils
AI summary Read the abstract
Scientists compiled a massive dataset from existing studies to see how microplastics affect animals, plants, and soil around the world, looking at things like growth, reproduction, and behavior. This isn't a new experiment but rather an organized collection of research findings, designed so other scientists can double-check the results and build on them. While the dataset itself doesn't focus directly on human health, understanding how microplastics disrupt plants, animals, and soil matters because these are the foundations of our food supply and ecosystems we depend on.
Data and R scripts for: Microplastic pollution in terrestrial soils — a global systematic review and meta-analysis of sources, ecological impacts, and remediation strategies (2000–2025)
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Researchers release the complete dataset and R scripts underpinning a systematic review and meta-analysis of microplastic pollution in terrestrial soils from 2000 to 2025, covering study characteristics, effect-size data, and risk-of-bias assessments drawn from 240 studies.
Reproducible Data and R Code for a Meta-analysis and Machine-learning Study of Aged Micro- and Nanoplastic Phytotoxicity
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Scientists combined data from 51 studies to see how tiny plastic particles, especially ones broken down by sun and weather, affect plant growth. This resource itself is mainly a dataset and code for other researchers, but the underlying research helps us understand whether "aged" microplastics in soil are more or less harmful to crops than fresh ones, which matters since plants are part of how these particles could enter our food supply.
A global dataset of soil microplastics (2005-2026)
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Scientists compiled the largest known database of soil microplastic pollution, combining nearly 6,200 measurements from over 4,900 locations in 49 countries into one standardized resource. This matters because soil is where much of our food grows, and understanding how tiny plastic particles build up in farmland and other soils is a key step toward figuring out whether—and how much—plastic pollution might be making its way into the food we eat. The dataset itself doesn't test health effects, but it gives researchers the consistent, comparable data they need to start answering those questions.
Microplastic effects on zooplankton: meta-analysis dataset and code (48 studies; 1,468 effect sizes)
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This meta-analysis dataset accompanies research pooling data from 48 studies to examine how microplastics affect zooplankton across different environmental conditions. The analysis covers nearly 1,500 effect measurements and found that microplastics pose elevated risks to these tiny aquatic organisms, particularly under warming conditions. This is concerning because zooplankton form the foundation of aquatic food webs that ultimately supply seafood to human diets.
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