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Microplastics in agricultural soil: Unveiling their role in shaping soil properties and driving greenhouse gas emissions
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This review examines how microplastics in agricultural soils affect carbon and nitrogen cycles and alter greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers found that microplastics reduce soil water retention, decrease soil respiration, and increase emissions of carbon monoxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The study reveals that microplastic contamination in farmland may have broader climate implications by disrupting the soil processes that regulate greenhouse gas fluxes.
Microplastics (MPs) contamination is pervasive in agricultural soils, significantly influencing carbon and nitrogen biogeochemical cycles and altering greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes. This review examines the sources, status, mechanisms, and ecological consequences of MPs pollution in agricultural soils, with a focus on how MPs modified soil physicochemical properties and microbial gene expression, ultimately impacting GHG emissions. MPs were found to reduce soil water retention, decreasing soil respiration and increasing emissions of CO, CH₄, and NO. They also enhanced soil aggregate stability and influenced soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, contributing further to GHG emissions. MPs-induced increases in soil pH were associated with suppressed CH₄ and NO emissions, whereas the abundance of genes encoding enzymes for cellulose and lignin decomposition (e.g., abfA and mnp) stimulated enzyme activity, intensifying NO release. Additionally, a reduced soil C/N ratio promoted denitrification processes. Changes in microbial communities, including increases in Actinomycetes and Proteobacteria, were observed, with a rise in genes associated with carbon cycling (abfA, manB, xylA) and nitrification-denitrification (nifH, amoA, nirS, nirK), further exacerbating CO and NO emissions. This review provides valuable insights into the complex roles of MPs in GHG dynamics in agricultural soils, offering perspectives for improving environmental management strategies.
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Impacts of Microplastics on Soil Characteristics, Microbial Diversity and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Review
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This review summarizes existing research on how tiny plastic particles in soil affect its structure, microbial communities, and greenhouse gas emissions. Findings show microplastics alter carbon and nitrogen cycling, shift microbial populations, and change gas emissions in ways that depend on plastic type, shape, and soil conditions.
Effects of microplastics on microbial community and greenhouse gas emission in soil: A critical review
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This review examines how microplastics in soil affect microbial communities and greenhouse gas emissions, finding that microplastics can alter the abundance and activity of soil bacteria in ways that increase carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide release. The plastics change soil structure and chemistry, creating conditions that favor certain gas-producing microbes over others. These effects could worsen climate change while also disrupting soil fertility, with indirect consequences for food production.
Effects of microplastics on soil properties: Current knowledge and future perspectives
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This review examines how microplastics affect soil health, including changes to soil structure, chemistry, and the microbial communities that keep soil fertile. The effects vary depending on the type, shape, and amount of plastic present, but in many cases microplastics alter nutrient availability and can even influence greenhouse gas emissions from soil. These changes could threaten crop productivity and food safety, since microplastics are now found in agricultural soils worldwide.
Effect of microplastics on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycle in farmland soil: A meta-analysis
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This meta-analysis of 102 studies found that microplastics in farmland soil increased soil organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, and microbial biomass nitrogen, but also elevated CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions through enhanced carbon mineralization and denitrification. Microplastic biodegradability, size, concentration, and soil properties all drove these effects, suggesting agricultural microplastic pollution may worsen greenhouse gas emissions from farmland.
Disentangling microplastics effects on soil structure, microbial activity and greenhouse gas emissions
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Researchers studied how microplastics affect soil structure, microbial activity, and greenhouse gas emissions, finding complex interactions that depend on microplastic type and concentration. The presence of microplastics in soils can alter the biological processes that regulate carbon storage and nutrient cycling.
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