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Effects of polyester microfibers on soil physical properties: Perception from a field and a pot experiment
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Polyester microfiber additions to clayey soil at 0.1% and 0.3% concentrations in field and pot experiments significantly increased large pore volume (>30 μm) and reduced small pore volume (<30 μm) but did not affect bulk density or saturated hydraulic conductivity. The findings indicate that polyester microfibers alter soil pore structure in ways that could influence water retention and plant-available water in agricultural soils.
Understanding soil physical properties is essential for soil quality management and sustainable land use. With the growing accumulation of microplastics in soils, a better understanding of the impact of microplastics on soil physical properties is crucial to conserve and manage soil quality. This study explored the effects of polyester microfiber (PMF) concentrations (0, 0.1% and 0.3%) on bulk density, porosity, aggregation and hydraulic conductivity of a clayey soil from a field experiment (1 year) and a pot experiment (6 wet-dry cycles). Polyester microfibers significantly increased the volume of >30 μm pores and reduced the volume of <30 μm pores compared to the control treatment. However, there were no detectable changes in the soil bulk density and saturated hydraulic conductivity between the PMF treatments and the control treatment. Interestingly, we observed that polyester microfibers significantly increased the contents of water stable large macroaggregates (>2 mm) in the 0.3% PMF (44%) and 0.1% PMF (39%) treatments compared to the control treatment (31%) in the pot experiment, but this was not true in the field experiment. The efficient interaction between polyester microfibers and fine soil particles and the frequent wet-dry cycles enhanced the formation and stability of macro-aggregates induced by polyester microfibers in the pot experiment. Overall, our results provide valuable evidence for microplastic influences on soil physical properties. Because microplastics are long-term anthropogenic contaminants, it is necessary to further study the impacts of microplastics on soil quality for terrestrial ecosystem sustainability.
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Researchers examined how polyester microfiber additions at 0.1% and 0.3% of soil dry weight affected organic carbon distribution across soil aggregate size fractions in a pot experiment over 75 days. Microfiber addition reduced organic carbon in large macro-aggregates but increased it in small macro-aggregates, while less than 30% of added microfibers were incorporated into soil aggregates overall.
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This study found that polyester microplastic fibers changed soil physical properties — including aggregate stability and water infiltration — and significantly increased erosion vulnerability in two of three agricultural soil types tested. The results show that microplastic pollution in farmland soils can degrade their structural integrity, threatening long-term agricultural productivity.
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Researchers spiked clay and sandy loam soils with PET microplastic fibers and fragments and measured oxygen diffusivity and soil respiration, finding that fibers reduced pore connectivity and oxygen diffusion more than fragments and that clay soils amplified these effects relative to sandy loam.
Polyester microplastic fibers rearrange soil physical quality indicators without compromising hydraulic function in six Mediterranean soils: Insights from S-theory indicators
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Researchers investigated how polyester microplastic fibers affect soil physical quality in six Mediterranean soils at various contamination levels over six months. They found that while microplastics altered key soil structure indicators, creating larger pore spaces and enhanced aggregation, the overall water-holding capacity and hydraulic function remained largely preserved. The effects were most pronounced at the highest concentration tested and varied by soil type, with moderate-clay soils showing the most change.
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