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Microplastics mineralization accelerates soil organic matter decomposition by positive priming effect
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This meta-analysis pools data from multiple studies to show that microplastics in soil actually speed up the breakdown of natural organic matter through a process called positive priming. This matters because it means microplastic pollution is not just sitting harmlessly in soil but is actively changing soil chemistry in ways that could affect long-term soil health and agricultural productivity.
Microplastics (MPs) are considered a novel type of contamination that is abundant in soil due to their recalcitrant nature, potentially affecting the structure and function of the soil. However, the MPs mineralization processes in soil and their priming effects (PE) on original soil organic matter (SOM) decomposition are still poorly understood. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis of 10 published articles to estimate the mineralization rate of MPs in soil and their PE on SOM decomposition. We found that both MPs-derived carbon dioxide (CO2) and soil-derived CO2 emissions declined with incubation time. There were differences in mineralization rates among various types, sizes and concentrations of MPs, which affected their PE; however, overall, the input of MPs induced a significant positive PE in soil. In addition, MPs mineralization rate was mainly controlled by soil pH, while PE was primarily regulated by the soil carbon to nitrogen (N) ratio. Furthermore, the concentration of dissolved organic carbon and microbial biomass carbon significantly increased after MPs input, while soil nitrate concentration significantly decreased. These results indicated that MPs input may exert a positive PE by enhancing soil microbial N mineralization. Collectively, our findings provide a comprehensive assessment of MPs mineralization and how it affects soil organic carbon dynamics via stimulating PE, which is important for elucidating SOM turnover under increased MPs pollution.
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Microplastics mineralization accelerates soil organic carbon decomposition by positive priming effects: A meta-analysis
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A meta-analysis of studies found that microplastics in soil mineralize at 0.114% per day and simultaneously trigger a 33.6% acceleration in soil organic carbon decomposition through positive priming effects driven by microbial co-metabolism and nitrogen mining. This finding reveals that widespread microplastic contamination is actively disrupting terrestrial carbon cycles, with significant implications for climate feedback loops and long-term soil health.
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Researchers conducted a meta-analysis of over 8,000 observations to show that all major carbon inputs — including biodegradable microplastics — trigger positive priming effects that accelerate soil organic matter mineralization, with rapidly degradable plastics like polyhydroxyalkanoates boosting mineralization by up to 258% and soil clay content acting as a key moderating variable.
Microplastic-derived dissolved organic carbon affects soil organic carbon mineralization through shifts in microbial community composition
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Researchers combined meta-analysis, incubation experiments, and machine learning to show that dissolved organic carbon released during microplastic decomposition drives a soil carbon priming effect whose direction and magnitude depend on polymer biodegradability, with fungi dominating the effect in carbon-poor subsoils and bacteria attenuating it in organic-rich topsoils.
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