Effects of soil moisture fluctuation and microplastics types on soil organic matter decomposition and carbon dynamics

Impacts of microplastics on terrestrial soil carbon dynamics

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This synthesis shows that microplastics disrupt soil organic carbon sequestration through multiple mechanisms, including leaching dissolved organic matter, altering microbial carbon pump efficiency, and creating hotspots that modify mineral-organic matter interactions within soil aggregates. As microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils globally, their interference with carbon storage could undermine both climate mitigation efforts and the soil ecosystem services that support food production.

Differential effects of microplastics on soil organic carbon via lignin phenols and amino sugars in soil aggregates

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Pot experiments with corn showed that both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable PLA microplastics reduced the accumulation of microbial carbon in soil aggregates, disrupting how organic matter builds up in the ground. Because microplastic-derived carbon can be miscounted as soil organic carbon, these findings suggest we may be overestimating soil health in contaminated agricultural fields.

Soil Aggregates and Organic Carbon Transformation in Response to Microplastics Pollution

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Researchers synthesized 131 studies on microplastics in agricultural soils and found that microplastics destabilize soil aggregates, accelerate organic carbon mineralization, and stimulate microbial activity in ways that collectively degrade soil structure and increase carbon loss to the atmosphere.

Effect of microplastics on soil aggregate stability and organic carbon mineralization under flooding condition

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Laboratory experiments showed that microplastics of two sizes and three concentrations reduced soil aggregate stability and accelerated organic carbon mineralization under flooded conditions, with smaller MPs producing stronger effects and increasing dissolved and particulate organic carbon. This disruption of soil carbon dynamics by MPs has implications for agricultural soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, and the long-term fertility of farmland.

Microplastics affect key soil functions – water, carbon and nutrient storage – and soil microbiota via interactions between plastic degradability and soil aggregation