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Rhizoplastisphere in mangrove ecosystems: A nexus of plastic pollution and microbial ecology.
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This review paper examines how plastic waste in mangrove forests interacts with plant roots and microbes, an area the authors call the "rhizoplastisphere." It summarizes existing research on how plastics affect soil, microbial communities, and nutrient cycling, including both microbial breakdown of plastics and possible risks like harmful bacteria spreading.
Plastic pollution is an increasing threat to coastal ecosystems, particularly mangrove forests, where complex root structures and sediment characteristics promote the retention and persistence of plastic debris. Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) can alter sediment properties, microbial communities, nutrient cycling, plant physiology, and interactions across trophic levels, with potential consequences for ecosystem functioning and human health. This review presents the "rhizoplastisphere" as an integrative framework that describes the overlap between root-influenced soil or sediment (rhizosphere) and plastic-associated microbial habitats (plastisphere) under demonstrable living root influence. Although potentially applicable across rooted soils and sediments, the framework is examined primarily in mangrove ecosystems. The rhizoplastisphere provides a conceptual basis for examining the combined effects of root-derived inputs, plastic properties, and microbial processes. Particular emphasis is placed on the microbiome as both a potential target of plastic-associated stress and a functional component that influences nutrient cycling, plant-microbe interactions, biofilm development, and plastic transformation. Further, this review evaluates evidence for microbial contributions to plastic biodegradation and bioremediation while considering potential risks, including altered community structure, horizontal gene transfer, pathogen enrichment, and other forms of microbial dysbiosis. By integrating current evidence from mangrove, coastal, and relevant non-mangrove systems, this review identifies key knowledge gaps and methodological priorities for experimentally validating the rhizoplastisphere concept. Understanding these root-plastic-microbe interactions is essential for assessing the ecological consequences of plastic contamination and developing evidence-based strategies for managing plastics in mangrove ecosystems.
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A review on microplastic pollution in the mangrove wetlands and microbial strategies for its remediation
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Researchers reviewed the growing problem of microplastic pollution in mangrove wetland ecosystems and its effects on the biological communities that depend on these habitats. They found that microplastic exposure can substantially alter the microbial communities critical to nutrient cycling in mangrove environments. The review also explores microbial bioremediation strategies as a sustainable approach to addressing plastic pollution in these threatened coastal ecosystems.
Microplastic aging and plastisphere succession in mangrove sediments: Mechanisms, microbial interactions, and degradation potential
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Microplastic aging processes and the succession of microbial communities (plastisphere) in mangrove sediments were tracked over time, revealing how the plastic surface microbiome changes as particles weather. Understanding plastisphere dynamics in coastal ecosystems is important for assessing how microplastics interact with and potentially disrupt mangrove ecology.
Microplastics Intercepted in Mangrove Forests: Sources, Generation, and Mitigation Strategies
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This review paper looks at how plastic waste builds up and breaks down into microplastics in mangrove forests—coastal ecosystems that trap trash from the ocean, land, and even air. This matters because mangroves are nurseries for fish and seafood we eat, so microplastics trapped there can work their way up the food chain and onto our plates. The researchers highlight using bacteria and other microbes as a promising, natural way to help break down this plastic pollution before it spreads further.
Distinct microplastics abundance variation in root-associated sediments revealed the underestimation of mangrove microplastics pollution
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This study characterized how microplastic abundance varies across root hair, rhizosphere, and non-rhizosphere zones in mangrove sediments, finding that root structures significantly influence microplastic trapping and migration patterns within mangrove ecosystems.
Insight into the role of niche concept in deciphering the ecological drivers of MPs-associated bacterial communities in mangrove forest
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This study investigated how environmental factors shape the bacterial communities colonizing microplastics (the plastisphere) in mangrove forests, examining niche partitioning and ecological drivers. Results revealed that local environmental gradients strongly influenced plastisphere community assembly, with implications for understanding how microplastics alter microbial ecology in mangrove systems.
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