Microplastic Stress Affects the Allocation of Straw-Derived Carbon by Weakening Soil Microbial Interactions

Impacts of microplastics on terrestrial soil carbon dynamics

AI summary · Read the abstract

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.

Soil Aggregates and Organic Carbon Transformation in Response to Microplastics Pollution

AI summary · Read the abstract

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 Change Soil Nutrient Availability, Microbial Properties, and Ecosystem Multifunctionality of a Red Soil

AI summary · Read the abstract

A two-month incubation experiment found that polyethylene and PVC microplastics disrupt soil nutrient availability, microbial communities, and overall ecosystem function in red soil, with effects varying by plastic type, size, and dose. Soil microplastic contamination threatens agricultural productivity by undermining the microbial processes that keep soils fertile.

Deciphering the Dual Mechanisms of Soil Carbon Disturbance by Biodegradable and Conventional Microplastics: A Global Synthesis of Multi-Pathway Responses

Microplastics affect key soil functions – water, carbon and nutrient storage – and soil microbiota via interactions between plastic degradability and soil aggregation