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Soil Microplastic Pollution Enhances Plant Invasions by Restructuring Native – Invasive Competitive Interactions
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics enter terrestrial ecosystems through atmospheric deposition, irrigation, and agricultural mulching and found they reduce soil moisture, disrupt microbial communities, impair nutrient cycling, and harm earthworms — collectively threatening soil health and plant performance in agricultural and natural systems.
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This review synthesized evidence on microplastic contamination in terrestrial soil-plant systems, examining effects on soil structure, nutrient cycling, microbial communities, and plant uptake of plastic particles. Because plants can absorb microplastics and translocate them into edible tissue, agricultural soil contamination represents a direct and underappreciated pathway of human dietary exposure to plastic particles.
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Microplastics, tiny plastic fragments from industrial waste and vehicle exhaust, are building up in soil, and this review pulls together research on how they disrupt soil life, from bacteria to earthworms to crop plants like wheat and tomatoes. The effects are a mixed bag: some microbes actually thrive, while earthworms can suffer toxic effects and plants may absorb harmful chemicals through their roots. This matters because these plastics can accumulate over time and potentially move up the food chain into the foods we eat, though scientists say more research is needed to fully understand the risks.
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