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Systematic review of microplastics and heavy metals co-contamination on soils: The triple-chain effects of soil properties, crop responses, and biological communities
Summary
Researchers reviewed how co-contamination of agricultural soils with microplastics and heavy metals interacts synergistically to exacerbate nutrient deficiencies, increase reactive oxygen species, and stunt plant growth, proposing a three-chain soil-crop-biota framework to reconcile contradictory findings and guide remediation strategies.
Microplastics (MP), due to high specific surface area and chemical activity, can serve as carriers for heavy metals (HM), influencing their speciation, mobility, and toxicity in soil. In recent years, the interaction between MP and HM has become a research hotspot in agricultural soil pollution. Yet, the full ecological consequences of this co-contamination remain poorly defined. This review offers an in-depth analysis of how the co-occurrence of MP and HM affects the health of agricultural soils. We begin by exploring changes to key physicochemical properties, and examining biological repercussions. The dual stressors of MP and HM have been shown to interact synergistically, exacerbating nutrient deficiencies in plants, increasing the generation of reactive oxygen species, and stunting growth, which together undermine both yield and produce quality. By embedding the evidence into a three-chain framework (soil-crop-biota), this review reconciles contradictory outcomes (synergistic vs. antagonistic) and translates mechanisms into indicators and governance options.