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Conventional and biodegradable agricultural microplastics: effects on soil properties and microbial functions across a European pedoclimatic gradient
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Researchers compared the effects of conventional polyethylene and biodegradable PBAT-starch mulching film microplastics on soil properties, microbial diversity, litter decomposition, and greenhouse gas emissions across soils from multiple European climates, finding type- and concentration-dependent effects on soil ecosystem function.
Agricultural plastics like mulching films may become a major source of microplastic (MP) soil contamination during their degradation and fragmentation. This study investigates the effects of agricultural MPs from conventional (linear low-density polyethylene, PE) and biodegradable (starch-blended polybutylene adipate co-terephthalate, PBAT-BD) mulching films on soil physicochemical properties, aggregation, microbial diversity and functions, litter decomposition, and greenhouse gases emissions (GHG). For this purpose, MPs were mixed into soils at realistic MP concentrations of 0.005 % and 0.05 % (w/w) in 2022 on experimental plots in three EU countries representing different pedoclimatic conditions (Finland, Germany and Spain), followed by monitoring of the above-mentioned variables in the subsequent growing seasons 2022 and 2023. We found several significant MP-induced effects for soil properties, aggregation, microbial diversity, litter decomposition, and GHG, but the effect endpoints were less pronounced or varied considerably. Contrarily, microbial activity, contributing to soil functions such as nitrogen cycling, was consistently reduced by both conventional and biodegradable MPs. The reductions were more pronounced after the second season and for the higher MP treatment. As the higher MP concentration (i.e., 0.05 % w/w) is environmentally relevant in Europe, our findings emphasize the potential effects of environmentally relevant MP concentrations on soil health. Furthermore, the effects increased from north to south, probably modulated by varying pedoclimatic conditions, inducing reflection of a need for regionally tailored risk assessment to protect soil from plastic pollution.
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Conventional and biodegradable agricultural microplastics: effects on soil properties and microbial functions across a European pedoclimatic gradient
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Researchers tested how microplastics from both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable mulching films affect soil health across experimental plots in Finland, Germany, and Spain. They found that both types of microplastics consistently reduced microbial activity related to nitrogen cycling, with effects becoming more pronounced over the second growing season. The study raises concerns because the concentrations tested are already environmentally relevant in European agricultural soils.
Macro and microplastics in agricultural soils after use of conventional and biodegradable plastics
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Researchers sampled 38 agricultural fields where conventional polyethylene mulching films, polypropylene weed fabrics, biodegradable PBAT films, and frost covers had been used, quantifying macro- and microplastic contamination in soils to assess how different agricultural plastic products contribute to soil plastic pollution.
Microplastics in agricultural soils : effects on physical, chemical, and microbiological processes
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This thesis examines how pristine and degraded conventional microplastics (polyethylene and PET) and biodegradable microplastics (PBAT) affect soil physical, chemical, and microbial properties across silty loam and sandy loam soils, integrating five studies involving greenhouse and laboratory experiments to assess impacts on aggregation, water-holding capacity, carbon storage, respiration, nutrient cycling, and microbial community composition.
Macro and microplastics in agricultural soils after use of conventional and biodegradable plastics
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Researchers sampled 38 agricultural fields where different plastic products had been used — conventional polyethylene mulching films, polypropylene weed fabrics, biodegradable PBAT mulching films, frost covers, and oxo-degradable films — analyzing both macro and microplastics in soil at varying size fractions. They found plastic particles from all film types present in soils, with biodegradable and oxo-degradable films producing detectable microplastics, raising concerns about all agricultural plastic categories.
Presence of different microplastics promotes greenhouse gas emissions and alters the microbial community composition of farmland soil
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Researchers examined how five types of microplastics (PVC, PP, PE, PS, and PET) at different concentrations affect greenhouse gas emissions and microbial communities in farmland soil. The study found that microplastic presence promoted greenhouse gas emissions and altered the composition of soil microbial communities, with effects varying by plastic type and concentration.
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