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Exploring the long-term effect of plastic on compost microbiome
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A study of compost piles over many years found that LDPE plastic films affected microbial community composition, with some plastic-degrading microorganisms increasing over time. This suggests that soil microbiomes can adapt to plastic pollution but may be permanently altered in the process.
Little is known about the ecology of microbial plastic degradation. In this study, we employed next generation amplicon sequencing to assess the effect of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films on the structure of bacterial and fungal communities in four mature compost piles with age ranging between 2 and 10 years. While, bacterial Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria and fungi Ascomycota were most abundant across all facilities, our data indicated significant differences in compost microbiomes between compost facilities, which might be related to compost chemical parameters, age of piles and characteristics of the feedstock. In addition, a substantial shift in the interaction pattern within microbial communities from bulk and plastic-associated (PA) compost was detected. For example, cooperation between Firmicutes Bacillaceae and Thermoactinomycetaceae was detected only in PA compost. However, based on the analysis of the diversity indices and the relative abundances of microbial taxa we can conclude that the presence of plastics in compost had no significant effect on the structure of microbial community.
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Researchers examined microplastic pollution in greenhouse soils that received organic compost over a 15-year period. The study found that long-term compost application significantly increased microplastic accumulation in soil profiles, with particles gradually weathering into smaller fragments and migrating to deeper soil layers, and earthworms in compost-amended soils also contained elevated microplastic levels.
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Soil samples from farmland covered with plastic film for 5, 13, or 20 years showed that microplastics built up and broke into smaller pieces over time, changing nutrient levels and shifting the mix of soil bacteria and fungi. Bacterial diversity rose while fungal diversity fell, and these community changes were linked mainly to microplastic-driven changes in soil nutrients.
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Researchers monitored the microbial communities colonizing biodegradable (PBS, PBAT) and conventional polyethylene plastics buried in agricultural soils over one year under organic vs. conventional farming and current vs. projected climate conditions, finding that farming practice shaped the plastisphere microbiome more than climate, with early colonization dominated by genera known to degrade plastics.
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