We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Impact of microplastics on terrestrial ecosystems: A plant-centric perspective
AI summary Read the abstract
This review focuses on how microplastics affect plants and soil health in agricultural settings, an area that has received less attention than marine microplastic pollution. The researchers describe how microplastics can alter soil structure, disrupt microbial communities, and enter plant tissues through unique transport mechanisms. The study highlights that agricultural soils are a major sink for microplastics, with potential consequences for food safety and crop productivity.
Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic particles smaller than five millimeters, are pervasive environmental pollutants affecting ecosystems from aquatic habitats to terrestrial soils. While extensive research has been conducted on MPs contamination in marine environments, the impacts of MPs in agricultural soils, particularly on plant health, remain underexplored. This review presents a comprehensive analysis of MPs contamination sources, pathways, and effects on soil properties and plant systems, focusing on MPs unique mechanisms of translocation within plants. By examining the role of MPs in disrupting soil structure, microbial communities, and plant growth, this paper identifies critical knowledge gaps and highlights the ecological risks of MPs presence in agricultural settings. Unlike prior reviews, this work provides a plant-centric perspective, addressing MPs uptake, translocation, and accumulation within plant tissues, and proposes novel mitigation strategies such as biodegradable alternatives and advancements in waste management. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of MPs interactions with heavy metals and other pollutants in soil, which may amplify toxicity in plant systems and impact overall soil fertility. This review aims to inform future research directions and policy-making efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of MPs in terrestrial ecosystems, with significant implications for agricultural productivity, soil health, and long-term food security. • Explores sources and uptake of microplastics in plants. • Highlights inhibitory effects on soil and plants. • Identifies critical knowledge gaps and research needs. • Assesses long-term effects on agricultural productivity.
More Papers Like This
Microplastics interaction with terrestrial plants and their impacts on agriculture
AI summary Read the abstract
This review summarizes what is known about how microplastics interact with terrestrial plants, including how they are taken up, transported through plant tissues, and affect growth and agricultural productivity. Researchers note that while marine microplastic research is extensive, studies on soil ecosystems and crop impacts remain limited. The study highlights the need for more research on how microplastics in agricultural soils may ultimately affect food safety and human health.
Impacts of microplastics on terrestrial plants: A critical review
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines how microplastics affect land-based plants, finding that they can alter soil structure, disrupt beneficial soil microbes, and reduce plant growth. Microplastics also carry toxic chemicals like plasticizers and heavy metals that can be taken up by plant roots and enter the food chain. The findings raise concerns about human health since contaminated crops could be a hidden source of microplastic and chemical exposure in our diets.
Microplastics in terrestrial ecosystem: Exploring the menace to the soil-plant-microbe interactions
AI summary Read the abstract
This review summarizes existing research on how microplastics affect the complex relationships between soil, plants, and soil microbes. Microplastics alter soil structure, change the makeup of microbial communities, and disrupt beneficial partnerships between plants and helpful fungi and bacteria. These disruptions can reduce plant growth and nutrient cycling, which could ultimately affect crop yields and the quality of food produced on microplastic-contaminated farmland.
Effects of microplastics on farmland soils and plants: a review
AI summary Read the abstract
This review synthesized evidence on how microplastics affect farmland soils and crops, examining changes to soil structure, microbial communities, and plant health. The authors document that MPs can enter root systems, alter nutrient uptake, and disrupt soil ecology, with implications for food safety and agricultural productivity.
Microplastic: Evaluating the Impact on Soil-Microbes and Plant System
AI summary Read the abstract
This review examines how microplastics affect soil microbial communities and plant systems in agricultural settings, documenting impacts on soil health, microbial diversity, and crop physiology. As microplastics accumulate in farmland soils through irrigation, sludge application, and plastic mulches, their effects on the soil ecosystem that underpins food production are a growing concern.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.