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The bifunctional impact of polylactic acid microplastics on composting processes and soil-plant systems: Dynamics of microbial communities and ecological niche competition
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Researchers investigated how polylactic acid microplastics affect microbial communities during composting and the subsequent impact on soil and plants. They found that the microplastics played a dual role, suppressing some bacterial groups while promoting others depending on the composting phase, and shifted the core microbial network from bacterial to fungal dominance during stabilization. The study indicates that composting as a disposal method for biodegradable plastics can transfer microplastic-driven microbial changes to soil, causing oxidative stress in plants.
Although extensive research has been conducted on the environmental impact of microplastics (MPs), their effects on microorganisms during the composting process and on the compost-soil system remain unclear. Our research investigates the microbial response to polylactic acid microplastics (PLAMPs) during aerobic composting and examines how compost enriched with PLAMPs affects plants. Our findings reveal that PLAMPs play a dual role in the composting process, influencing microorganisms differently depending on the composting phase. PLAMPs reduce the relative abundance of sensitive bacterial ASVs, specifically those belonging to Limnochordaceae and Enterobacteriaceae, during composting, while increasing the relative abundance of ASVs belonging to Steroidobacteriaceae and Bacillaceae. The impact of PLAMPs on microbial community assembly and niche width was found to be phase-dependent. In the stabilization phase (S5), the presence of PLAMPs caused a shift in the core microbial network from bacterial dominance to fungal dominance, accompanied by heightened microbial antagonism. Additionally, these intricate microbial interactions can be transferred to the soil ecosystem. Our study indicates that composting, as a method of managing PLAMPs, is also influenced by PLAMPs. This influence is transferred to the soil through the use of compost, resulting in severe oxidative stress in plants. Our research is pivotal for devising future strategies for PLAMPs management and predicting the subsequent changes in compost quality and environmental equilibrium.
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Researchers reviewed how plastisphere microbiomes colonizing plastics in compost systems can partially degrade or fragment polymers under thermophilic conditions, while conventional plastics persist and potentially shift toward nanoplastics—creating a sustainability paradox where composting reduces organic waste but may simultaneously disseminate microplastics into amended agricultural soils, disrupting soil ecology and plant performance.
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A pot experiment examined effects of polylactic acid (biodegradable) microplastics and straw residue on soil microbial communities and carbon/nitrogen dynamics, finding that PLA MPs had minimal effect on bacterial diversity but interacted with carbon availability to alter microbial function. The results suggest biodegradable microplastics are not ecologically neutral in soil ecosystems.
Differential carbon accumulation of microbial necromass and plant lignin by pollution of polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics in soil
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This study found that both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics changed how carbon is stored in soil. The plastics increased carbon from dead microbes while decreasing carbon from plant material, with most of the additional soil carbon coming from fungal remains. These changes to soil chemistry matter because they could affect agricultural productivity and the ability of soil to store carbon, with broader implications for climate and food systems.
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