Divergent impacts of biodegradable and conventional microplastics on soil health and metal mobility in Cd/As-contaminated soils under diverse farming practices

Unveiling the ”green paradox” of biodegradable microplastics: Global patterns, chemical mobilization mechanisms, and management implications for soil heavy metals

Systematic review of microplastics and heavy metals co-contamination on soils: The triple-chain effects of soil properties, crop responses, and biological communities

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Researchers reviewed how co-contamination of agricultural soils with microplastics and heavy metals interacts synergistically to exacerbate nutrient deficiencies, increase reactive oxygen species, and stunt plant growth, proposing a three-chain soil-crop-biota framework to reconcile contradictory findings and guide remediation strategies.

Effects of Conventional and Biodegradable Microplastics on Soil Physicochemical Properties and Microorganisms

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A four-month soil incubation experiment compared conventional polyethylene (PE) and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics, finding both alter soil organic carbon, nitrogen availability, enzyme activity, and microbial community composition — with PLA causing distinct effects due to its degradability. The finding that biodegradable plastics still significantly disrupt soil microbiology challenges assumptions about their environmental safety and suggests replacing conventional plastics with PLA does not eliminate ecological harm.

Soil health and microplastics: a review of the impacts of microplastic contamination on soil properties

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Researchers reviewed a decade of studies on microplastic contamination in soil and found that microplastics alter soil chemistry and biology in complex ways depending on plastic type and concentration, with impacts expected to worsen as global plastic production continues to rise.

Microplastics as Emerging Contaminants: Unraveling Their Impact on Soil Health

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This review pulls together existing research showing how tiny plastic bits in soil mess with its structure, chemistry, and the microbes that keep it healthy, making it harder for plants to grow and absorb nutrients properly. This matters because these plastics can travel from soil into the crops we eat, and the damage to soil health could shrink crop yields over time, raising concerns about both food safety and food supply.