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Editorial: Exogenous carbon-based materials in soil ecosystems
Summary
This editorial introduced a research collection examining how different exogenous carbon-based materials — including crop straw, biochar, carbon nanomaterials, and microplastics — affect soil ecosystems. The collection aimed to fill knowledge gaps about how these diverse materials interact with soil processes, microorganisms, and plant growth. Understanding microplastics in the context of other carbon inputs to soil is important for predicting their effects on soil health and agricultural productivity.
Various exogenous carbon-based materials (ECMs) such as crop straw, biochar, carbon-based nano-fertilizer, and microplastics have accumulated in soil ecosystems. These ECMs may cause direct and indirect impacts on soil properties, processes, productivity, and health, thus potentially changing the function and stability of soil ecosystems. However, large knowledge gaps still exist on ECMs in soil ecosystems, including their accumulation, interactions with soil components, and potential ecological impacts and risks. Therefore, more efforts are needed to further understand the impacts especially the long-term effects of ECMs in soil ecosystems. By generating new knowledge, this Research Topic aims to improve the understanding of the effects of ECMs on soil ecosystems, including soil quality, nutrient cycling, microbial ecology, crop growth, environmental health and ecological risk.