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Bioplastic (PHBV) addition to soil alters microbial community structure and negatively affects plant-microbial metabolic functioning in maize
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Researchers tested the effects of adding a biodegradable bioplastic to soil on maize growth and soil microbial communities. They found that the bioplastic altered soil microbial community structure and negatively affected the metabolic interactions between plants and soil microbes, even at relatively low concentrations. The study raises concerns that biodegradable plastic alternatives may not be as benign to soil ecosystems as commonly assumed.
Microplastic contamination poses a significant threat to agroecosystem functioning, provoking a move away from the use of conventional oil-based plastics in agriculture, to biodegradable alternatives that may be degraded over a shorter timescale. The impact of these bioplastics on plant and soil health, however, has received relatively little attention. Here, we investigated the effect of soil loading (0.01%, 0.1%, 1% and 10%) of biobased microplastic poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) on soil and plant (Zea mays L.) health and function. We showed that PHBV caused a dose-dependent reduction in plant growth and foliar nitrogen (N) content while untargeted metabolite analysis revealed significant shifts in foliar metabolic function. These results were also reflected in soil, where PHBV led to reduced plant availability of both ammonium and nitrate. Soil 14C-isotope tracing and 16S metabarcoding revealed that PHBV suppressed microbial activity, reduced bacterial diversity and shifted microbial community structure, inducing a major shift in soil metabolic pathways, and thus functioning. Overall, our data suggests that the bioplastic PHBV is not environmentally benign and that contamination levels as low as 0.01% (0.01 mg kg-1) can induce significant short-term changes in both plant and soil microbial functioning, with potential implications for long term agroecosystem health.
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Microbial degradation of bioplastic (PHBV) is limited by nutrient availability at high microplastic loadings
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Researchers found that the degradation of the biodegradable plastic PHBV in soil becomes limited by nutrient availability when microplastic concentrations are high. Using pyrolysis GC-MS to quantify degradation, they observed that soil hydrophobicity increased while plant growth and soil microbial biomass decreased at higher microplastic loadings. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastics can negatively affect soil health when present in large quantities.
Biodegradable microplastics impact on soil: how poly-3-hydroxybutyrate alters microbial diversity and nitrogen mineralization processes
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Researchers found that biodegradable plastic made from poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB), when present as microplastics in soil, disrupts the microbial communities that cycle nitrogen — reducing the availability of nitrate that plants need to grow, which contributed to stunted maize growth in pot experiments. The findings suggest that even biodegradable plastics can harm soil health when they break down into microplastic particles.
Soil biota modulate the effects of microplastics on biomass and diversity of plant communities
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Researchers used mesocosm experiments with natural soil biota to compare the effects of biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics on plant community biomass and diversity. Soil biota modulated the impact of microplastics, with biodegradable plastics showing similar effects to conventional plastics on plant community structure, challenging the assumption that biodegradable alternatives are environmentally benign.
Soil microorganisms play an important role in the detrimental impact of biodegradable microplastics on plants
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Researchers found that biodegradable microplastics harmed vegetable crop growth by disrupting the soil microbial community rather than through direct contact with the plants. When soil microorganisms were suppressed, the negative effects of the biodegradable microplastics on plant growth were also reduced. The study suggests that soil bacteria and fungi play a key role in mediating the harmful impacts of biodegradable plastics on agricultural crops.
Impacts of conventional and biodegradable microplastics in maize-soil ecosystems: Above and below ground
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Researchers compared the effects of conventional plastics (polyethylene and polypropylene) and biodegradable plastics (PBAT and PCL) on corn plants and soil health. One biodegradable plastic, PCL, reduced plant production by about 74% and severely disrupted soil enzyme activity and microbial communities. This study cautions that simply replacing conventional plastics with biodegradable alternatives in farming is not guaranteed to be safer for soil ecosystems.
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