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The need to focus on plastic in terrestrial environments: Do micro- and nanoplastic affect microorganisms in soil?
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This study used microfluidic chips to test whether micro- and nanoplastic polystyrene particles affect soil microorganisms, finding measurable effects on microbial behavior in simulated soil channels. The results highlight the need for greater research attention on how microplastics affect soil ecosystems, which have received far less study than aquatic environments.
This study aims to investigate if micro- and nanoparticles of polystyrene affect microorganisms in soil. This was tested by using microfluidic chips, which are new for investigation of soil ecology questions, providing artificial channels reflecting soil conditions as well as being transparent for seeing real-time interactions. Eight microfluidic chips were made; four were filled with a micro- and nanoparticle solution with growth medium and a mixture of 26 nm, 200 nm and fluorescing 1 μm plastic particles. The other four chips were filled with growth medium only and served as control chips. Soil was put along the entry of the pillar system of each microfluidic chip, from where the natural microbial community of the soil could enter the chips. The analysis was performed under a bright field/fluorescence microscope within different structures in the chips, counting protozoa, bacteria and fungal hyphae, as well as looking for protozoa and nematodes ingesting or adhering 1 μm fluorescent microparticles. Significant effects were found on two groups of organisms, bacteria and protozoa. Two explanations are possible: The growth of the organisms was hampered, or their dispersal ability from the soil source to the measurement compartments. Protozoa were also counted in the entrance system of the chips, close to the soil source, where no effect of the plastics was found on their abundance. This might indicate that especially protozoa may rather be restricted in their dispersal than their growth by the plastic solution. A high turnover of protozoa near the soil source could also be a reason for no effect on abundance. Protozoa in the micro- and nanoparticle chips contained moving fluorescent 1 μm microparticles, implying ingestion or adherence. Further research should be carried out due to possible consequences like loss of ecosystem services from microorganisms, dispersion in food web as well as dispersion in soil and to groundwater.
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This study tested how polystyrene micro- and nanoplastic particles of three sizes affect soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling, finding that smaller particles caused greater disruption to nitrogen cycling and microbial activity. The results suggest that as plastics in soil fragment into smaller pieces over time, their impact on soil biology and fertility may worsen.
Exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics reduces bacterial and fungal biomass in microfabricated soil models
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Researchers used micro-engineered soil models to study how polystyrene nanoplastics affect soil bacteria and fungi. They found that nanoplastic exposure reduced both bacterial and fungal biomass, with bacteria showing a linear dose-dependent decline and fungi being affected even at the lowest concentrations. The study suggests that nanoplastic pollution in soil may suppress the microbial communities essential for healthy soil function.
The Effect of Applying Model Nanoplastic Particles to Soil on the Composition of Its Microbial Community
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Researchers conducted a one-month laboratory incubation experiment applying 0.55 µm polystyrene latex nanoplastics to soil to investigate effects on microbial community composition, finding that nanoplastic contamination altered soil microorganism diversity and activity in ways dependent on soil physicochemical properties and nanoplastic concentration.
Underestimated and ignored? The impacts of microplastic on soil invertebrates—Current scientific knowledge and research needs
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This review highlights the critical gap in research on how microplastics affect soil invertebrates, noting that soil ecosystems receive far more plastic pollution than oceans yet the ecological consequences for soil fauna remain poorly understood and largely unstudied.
Divergent responses in microbial metabolic limitations and carbon use efficiency to variably sized polystyrene microplastics in soil
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Researchers found that polystyrene microplastics of all sizes disrupted soil microbe metabolism, but the smallest particles (nanoscale, 0.1 micrometers) caused the most stress. Smaller particles were more likely to enter microbial cells directly and reduce the efficiency with which soil microbes process carbon. This matters because soil microbes play a critical role in carbon cycling, and widespread microplastic contamination could affect how soil stores and releases carbon.
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