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Environmental aging alters microplastic effects on soil DNRA in estuarine and coastal wetlands
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Plastic pollution in coastal wetlands doesn't just sit there unchanged, over time it "weathers" or ages in the environment, and this study found that aged plastic particles can significantly boost a soil process that keeps nitrogen locked in the soil rather than released into water or air. This matters because coastal wetlands act as natural filters that help control nitrogen pollution in our waterways, and this research shows that as microplastics break down over years in the environment, they may disrupt this filtering system in ways that fresh plastic doesn't, meaning current pollution assessments based on new plastic may be underestimating real-world impacts on these
Increased microplastic pollution in estuarine and coastal wetlands threatens the balance of the global nitrogen cycle. As microplastics (MPs) inevitably undergo environmental aging, their impacts on soil physicochemical properties and microbial functions differ fundamentally from those of virgin materials. However, how environmentally aged MPs interfere with dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), a critical pathway for nitrogen retention, remains poorly understood. Here, a 90-day microcosm experiment was conducted to investigate the response of DNRA in intertidal soils amended with either virgin or environmentally aged polypropylene (PP) MPs at concentrations of 0.5% and 1.0% (w/w). Our results showed that aged PP MPs significantly enhanced DNRA rates compared to the control treatment, with the low concentration (0.5%) boosting DNRA by 60% after 90 days, whereas virgin PP MPs exhibited negligible effects. Notably, this stimulation exhibited a non-linear pattern, as the high concentration (1.0%) aged PP MPs was less effective than the low concentration (0.5%). Sulfide, total organic carbon (TOC), and nitrate (NO), rather than functional gene abundance, were the primary influencing factors of the DNRA process. Aging-induced changes in soil physicochemical properties profoundly altered the effect of PP MPs on DNRA. Overall, this work provides new insights into the role of aged MPs in shaping nitrogen dynamics within estuarine and coastal ecosystems and underscores the necessity of incorporating aging effects in future ecological risk assessments of long-term MPs pollution.
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Environmentally aged microplastics alter archaeal and bacterial roles in ammonia oxidation of intertidal soils
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Scientists found that plastic pollution which has been broken down by sun, waves, and time (like the microplastics washing up on beaches and marshes) disrupts the natural process soil microbes use to cycle nitrogen, an essential nutrient for coastal ecosystems. Specifically, aged plastic bits threw off the balance between two types of nitrogen-processing microbes, slowing down the overall process by nearly a third. This matters because these coastal wetlands act as natural filters and buffers for our environment, and if microplastics are quietly disrupting the microbes that keep them healthy, it could have ripple effects on water qu
Aging behaviors intensify the impacts of microplastics on nitrate bioreduction-driven nitrogen cycling in freshwater sediments
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This study found that microplastics that have aged in the environment have stronger effects on nitrogen cycling in lake sediments than fresh microplastics, significantly altering how bacteria process nitrogen. These disruptions to natural nutrient cycles in freshwater systems could affect water quality and the broader food web that ultimately connects to human food sources.
Microplastics as pathway-selective modulators rewire nitrogen cycling in coastal wetlands: Polymer identity outweighs concentration
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Coastal wetlands act like natural water filters, using bacteria to remove excess nitrogen pollution before it causes harmful algae blooms in our oceans. This study found that certain plastics—especially polystyrene (like foam cups) and polypropylene (common in packaging)—can disrupt this filtering process, causing wetlands to trap nitrogen as ammonium instead of safely releasing it as gas. This matters because it means plastic pollution isn't just about visible litter or ingestion risks—it could be quietly weakening one of nature's key defenses against water pollution that affects seafood safety and coastal ecos
Impact of aged and virgin microplastics on sedimentary nitrogen cycling and microbial ecosystems in estuaries
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Researchers compared how weathered versus new microplastics affect nitrogen cycling in estuary sediments and found that aged microplastics had a faster, more significant impact on key processes like denitrification. Weathered polystyrene particles also increased nitrous oxide emissions, a potent greenhouse gas. The study suggests that the environmental risks of microplastics grow as they age and weather in natural settings.
Heightened threat of aged microplastics in constructed wetlands: impacts on nitrogen cycles and greenhouse gas emissions
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Researchers studied the effects of aged fibrous microplastics on nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions in constructed wetlands and found that high concentrations of aged MPs reduced nitrogen removal efficiency and increased N₂O emissions compared to pristine MPs. The results suggest aging intensifies the environmental disruption caused by microplastics in treatment wetlands.
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