Modeling the Impact of Microplastics on the Marine Carbon Sequestration Potential

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.

Microplastic Pollution in Marine Environment: Occurrence, Fate, and Effects (With a Specific Focus on Biogeochemical Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles)

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Marine sediments have emerged as major sinks for microplastic particles, where they disrupt biogeochemical carbon and nitrogen cycling in ways that could alter the ocean's capacity to regulate climate. The interference with nutrient cycles adds a systemic ecological dimension to microplastic pollution beyond the direct toxicity effects on individual organisms.

Microplastics as Pollutants in the Marine Environment

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Researchers reviewed the pathways and consequences of microplastic pollution in marine environments, focusing on how post-consumer plastic waste breaks down and accumulates across ocean ecosystems. The review underscores the widespread ecological risks posed by microplastics to marine life, with potential implications for human health through seafood consumption.

The fate and impacts of microplastics in marine systems

Consequences of Microplastics on Global Ecosystem Structure and Function

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This review synthesizes evidence that microplastics disrupt global ecosystem structure and function by altering abiotic conditions, transferring through food webs, interfering with biogeochemical cycles, and acting as vectors for co-pollutants and pathogens. The breadth of impacts — from primary producers to decomposers, and from carbon cycling to reproductive toxicity — positions microplastic pollution as a systemic planetary threat comparable to climate change.