Soil microplastics: Impacts on greenhouse gasses emissions, carbon cycling, microbial diversity, and soil characteristics

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.

Effects of different microplastics on greenhouse gas emissions from paddy soil

Microplastics in agricultural soils: Impacts on soil microbial communities, nutrient cycling, earthworm health, and soil ecosystem functions

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This review pulls together existing research showing that tiny plastic bits building up in farm soil, from sources like plastic mulch and sewage sludge, are harming the soil itself, disrupting the microbes and earthworms that keep it healthy and fertile. This matters because damaged soil means reduced crop growth and food security over time, and these same microplastics can carry harmful chemicals and heavy metals that may end up in our food, water, and air. The researchers stress that without action to reduce plastic pollution now, the damage to farmland could become permanent.

Microplastics in Soil Ecosystem: Insight on Its Fate and Impacts on Soil Quality

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Researchers examined how plastic film used widely in Chinese agriculture breaks down and accumulates in soil, finding that microplastic debris may degrade soil quality and crop health over time, with potential ripple effects for food safety and agricultural sustainability.

Microplastic in Soil Ecosystem: Transition and Ecological Impacts

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This review examined how microplastics transition through soil ecosystems, alter soil structure, affect microbial communities, and impact plant health and agricultural productivity. Soil microplastic contamination is a growing threat to food security because it degrades the biological systems that underpin crop growth while simultaneously introducing chemical additives into the root zone where they can be taken up by edible plants.