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Impacts of microplastics on terrestrial soil carbon dynamics
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This synthesis shows that microplastics disrupt soil organic carbon sequestration through multiple mechanisms, including leaching dissolved organic matter, altering microbial carbon pump efficiency, and creating hotspots that modify mineral-organic matter interactions within soil aggregates. As microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils globally, their interference with carbon storage could undermine both climate mitigation efforts and the soil ecosystem services that support food production.
Growing concerns about plastic pollution and climate change worldwide are driving research into the effects of microplastics on carbon cycling. Although the impacts of microplastics on soil organic carbon (SOC) levels and carbon emissions have been demonstrated, their role in SOC sequestration remains understudied. Here we discuss how interactions between microplastics and organic matter may affect SOC sequestration through biological, geochemical and physical processes. Microplastics and co-occurring contaminants alter SOC content and quality by leaching dissolved organic matter (DOM) and affecting native SOC mineralization. These changes may influence the efficacy of the microbial carbon pump and mineral-associated organic carbon formation. Furthermore, microplastic surfaces adsorb DOM for long-term preservation and form hotspots for mineral–organic matter interactions, thereby altering carbon storage within soil aggregates. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of the role of microplastics in soil carbon dynamics, from local to global scales, is essential to address both microplastic pollution and carbon neutrality. Microplastics impact terrestrial soil carbon dynamics, altering carbon storage, according to a synthesis of studies of microplastics and soil carbon cycling.
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Soil Aggregates and Organic Carbon Transformation in Response to Microplastics Pollution
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Researchers synthesized 131 studies on microplastics in agricultural soils and found that microplastics destabilize soil aggregates, accelerate organic carbon mineralization, and stimulate microbial activity in ways that collectively degrade soil structure and increase carbon loss to the atmosphere.
Microplastics in Soil-Plant Systems
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This review synthesized evidence on microplastic contamination in terrestrial soil-plant systems, examining effects on soil structure, nutrient cycling, microbial communities, and plant uptake of plastic particles. Because plants can absorb microplastics and translocate them into edible tissue, agricultural soil contamination represents a direct and underappreciated pathway of human dietary exposure to plastic particles.
Microplastic Pollution in Terrestrial Systems: Sources and Implications for Soil Functioning and Plant Performance
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics enter terrestrial ecosystems through atmospheric deposition, irrigation, and agricultural mulching and found they reduce soil moisture, disrupt microbial communities, impair nutrient cycling, and harm earthworms — collectively threatening soil health and plant performance in agricultural and natural systems.
Microplastics in Terrestrial Soils: Occurrence, Analysis, and Remediation
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics from synthetic polymers have spread throughout terrestrial soils globally, examining detection methods and emerging remediation strategies for a pollutant that now persists in farmlands and natural soils alike.
Microplastics and Their Effects on Soil Function as a Life-Supporting System
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Microplastics alter essential soil functions by changing soil structure, water retention, microbial communities, and nutrient cycling in ways that threaten the life-supporting capacity of agricultural and natural soils. As terrestrial microplastic contamination continues to grow — exceeding ocean concentrations in many regions — the long-term health of soil ecosystems and food production is at risk.
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