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Plastic particles driving cadmium mobility and nitrous oxide emissions: Revealing microbial Fe–N interactions in wetlands
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Researchers exposed wetland soil columns to polypropylene microplastics and found that MPs increased nitrous oxide emissions by 45%, raised exchangeable cadmium fractions by 28%, and decreased plant cadmium uptake by 56%, revealing that microplastics alter both greenhouse gas cycling and heavy metal bioavailability in urban wetlands.
Urban wetlands act as pollutant interfaces where microplastics (MPs) and cadmium (Cd) often coexist, however, the underlying biogeochemical mechanisms mediating their interactions remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of polypropylene MPs (PP-MPs) on Cd mobility and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions in flooded wetland soils planted with Acorus calamus using a two-month in-situ soil column experiment. PP-MPs significantly enhanced N₂O emissions by 45 %, accompanied by a 28 % increase in exchangeable Cd fractions, whereas plant Cd uptake decreased by 56 %, indicating that PP-MPs altered Cd bioavailability and cycling. These changes were closely associated with shifts in microbial community composition, particularly the enrichment of iron-reducing and nitrate-dependent Fe (II)-oxidising bacteria that mediate iron-nitrogen (Fe-N) redox coupling processes. Enhanced Fe-N interactions under PP-MPs exposure promoted the formation of Fe-Mn oxide plaques on root surfaces, facilitating Cd immobilisation and reducing its phytoavailability. Moreover, PP-MPs stimulated microbial denitrification by upregulating narG, nirS, and norB while suppressing nosZ, thereby increasing NO production and inhibiting its reduction to N. These findings demonstrate that PP-MPs modulate Cd speciation and greenhouse gas emissions via Fe-N-coupled microbial pathways, revealing their overlooked functional roles and ecological risks in wetland biogeochemistry.
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Heightened threat of aged microplastics in constructed wetlands: impacts on nitrogen cycles and greenhouse gas emissions
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Researchers studied the effects of aged fibrous microplastics on nitrogen cycling and greenhouse gas emissions in constructed wetlands and found that high concentrations of aged MPs reduced nitrogen removal efficiency and increased N₂O emissions compared to pristine MPs. The results suggest aging intensifies the environmental disruption caused by microplastics in treatment wetlands.
Microplastics as pathway-selective modulators rewire nitrogen cycling in coastal wetlands: Polymer identity outweighs concentration
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Coastal wetlands act like natural water filters, using bacteria to remove excess nitrogen pollution before it causes harmful algae blooms in our oceans. This study found that certain plastics—especially polystyrene (like foam cups) and polypropylene (common in packaging)—can disrupt this filtering process, causing wetlands to trap nitrogen as ammonium instead of safely releasing it as gas. This matters because it means plastic pollution isn't just about visible litter or ingestion risks—it could be quietly weakening one of nature's key defenses against water pollution that affects seafood safety and coastal ecos
Impacts of combined nanoplastic and cadmium pollution on nitrogen removal performance in constructed wetlands.
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Researchers tested how tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) combined with cadmium, a toxic metal, affect constructed wetlands that treat water. Wetlands exposed to both pollutants, especially biodegradable plastic particles, removed less nitrogen and showed disrupted microbial activity, including changes to bacteria genes involved in nitrogen processing.
Mechanistic insights into microplastic-mediated shifts in nitrogen metabolism and sensory quality across emergent and submerged-plant wetlands: Evidence from metagenomics and physiological indicators
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Researchers exposed surface-flow constructed wetlands planted with emergent and submerged macrophytes to polystyrene microplastics and found a 12.64% reduction in total nitrogen removal in the emergent plant system, driven by shifts in nitrogen-cycling microbial communities. PS-MPs also altered sensory water quality indicators, with effects varying by plant type.
Typical microplastics in field and facility agriculture dynamically affect available cadmium in different soil types through physicochemical dynamics of carbon, iron and microbes
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Researchers found that polyurethane and polypropylene microplastics dynamically affect cadmium availability in different soil types through changes in soil carbon chemistry, iron mineral forms, and microbial community composition, with effects varying between field and greenhouse agricultural conditions.
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