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Effect of nonbiodegradable microplastics on soil respiration and enzyme activity: A meta-analysis
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Microplastics Alter Dehydrogenase, Urease, and Cellulase Activities in Soil
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Laboratory experiments demonstrated that low-density polyethylene, polystyrene, and nylon microplastics alter the activity of key soil enzymes—dehydrogenase, urease, and cellulase—in ways that vary by polymer type, concentration, and exposure duration. Disruption of these enzymes undermines essential soil functions like nitrogen cycling and organic matter decomposition, threatening agricultural productivity and highlighting broader ecosystem risks of microplastic accumulation in farmland soils.
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A four-month soil incubation experiment compared conventional polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics, finding both alter soil organic carbon, nitrogen availability, enzyme activity, and microbial community composition — with PLA causing distinct effects due to its degradability. The finding that biodegradable plastics still significantly disrupt soil microbiology challenges assumptions about their environmental safety and suggests replacing conventional plastics with PLA does not eliminate ecological harm.
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This comprehensive review synthesizes evidence that microplastics alter soil physical structure, chemical properties including pH and nutrient cycling, and the communities of earthworms, collembolans, and microbes that maintain soil health, with cascading effects on plant growth and agricultural productivity. Because healthy soils underpin global food production, microplastic-driven degradation of soil ecosystems represents a long-term threat to food security and introduces a terrestrial route by which plastic contaminants accumulate in crops consumed by humans.
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