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Microplastic Can Decrease Enzyme Activities and Microbes in Soil
Summary
In a laboratory experiment, adding microplastics to soil significantly reduced beneficial soil bacteria and the activity of key enzymes needed for nutrient cycling, with effects worsening at higher microplastic concentrations. Enzyme activities dropped by 32% to 50% depending on the enzyme type. This matters for human health because degraded soil biology means less productive farmland and potentially reduced nutritional quality of food crops grown in microplastic-contaminated soil.
An in vitro study was conducted to investigate the impacts of microplastics on enzyme activities and soil bacteria. The study included four different treatments of microplastics including a control. Different levels of microplastics were applied to the soil ranging from 0% to 5%, to assess the impacts of microplastics on soil enzymes and subsequent soil bacteria. After 30 days of incubation, the soil samples were collected and growth parameters of bacteria were assessed. Activities of β-glucosidase, urease and dehydrogenase enzymes were also determined. Our results showed that the presence of microplastics in the soil significantly reduced bacterial population together with bacterial strains. The activities of β-glucosidase, urease and dehydrogenase enzymes were reduced significantly to approximately 32%, 40% and 50% in microplastics treated soils respectively. Concentration of microplastic has a role to play towards this direction; the higher the concentration of microplastic the greater is the impact on enzymes and soil bacteria. The present study on the microbial soil health vis-à-vis microplastic application indicates that the material can have negative effect on the soil bacterial population of and thus ultimately may jeopardize soil health and crop production.