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The potential of nature-based solutions for urban soils: focus on green infrastructure and bioremediation
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This review explores how nature-based solutions like green infrastructure and bioremediation can address pollution in urban soils, including contamination from microplastics. Researchers found that parks, green roofs, and constructed wetlands can improve soil quality and support microorganism communities that break down pollutants. The study suggests that working with natural systems rather than against them offers a sustainable path for cleaning up contaminated urban environments.
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) offer a promising, sustainable framework for addressing urban environmental challenges by harnessing the intrinsic functions of natural ecosystems. Defined as economically viable strategies inspired by nature, NbS aim to protect, manage, and restore ecosystems for mutual benefits to both people and nature. In urban and peri-urban contexts, NbS, such as green infrastructure and bioremediation, provide effective approaches to mitigating climate change, enhancing soil, air and water quality, reducing urban heat, and restoring ecological balance. Green infrastructure, comprising parks, urban forests, green roofs, and wetlands, has been shown to improve soil quality by enhancing organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus accumulation, as well as fostering biodiversity. Complementarily, bioremediation strategies, including microbial remediation and phytoremediation, have proven effective in decontaminating soils laden with heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, microplastics, and other pollutants, while promoting soil fertility and ecosystem services. Despite their demonstrated benefits, the efficacy of NbS is influenced by environmental factors such as soil pH, temperature, oxygen availability, and pollutant diversity. In addition, while NbS continue to evolve and their integration into urban planning represents a vital step toward creating resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities, their application in urban environments remains fragmented. Therefore, further research is required to optimize NbS interventions, scale up their implementation, and evaluate long-term impacts under urban conditions characterized by anthropogenic stressors. This review examines green infrastructure and bioremediation strategies, highlighting key case studies and evaluating their effects on soil quality and overall remediation outcomes.
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Impacts of microplastics and urbanization on soil health: An urgent concern for sustainable development
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Researchers reviewed how microplastics and urbanization together degrade soil health — disrupting soil biology, contaminating food chains, and creating compounding risks beyond what either factor causes alone. The study calls for urgent management strategies including reducing plastic use, sustainable urban planning, and active soil restoration.
Microplastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems: Global implications and sustainable solutions
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This review examines microplastic pollution in terrestrial ecosystems, an area that has received far less attention than ocean plastic pollution despite soil being a major sink for these contaminants. The study covers how microplastics interact with other soil pollutants, affect plant growth and soil health, and discusses both policy solutions and practical removal methods to reduce the amount of microplastics that enter the food chain.
Nanoplastics in soil and aquatic ecosystems: Sources, impacts, and nature-based remediation strategies
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This review examines nanoplastic contamination in both soil and aquatic ecosystems, covering sources, environmental concentrations, and ecological impacts. Researchers found that nanoplastics originate from plastic mulching, wastewater irrigation, and degradation of larger plastics, with reported concentrations reaching concerning levels, and they evaluate nature-based remediation strategies as potential solutions.
Potential strategies for bioremediation of microplastic contaminated soil
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Researchers reviewed emerging bioremediation strategies for removing microplastics from contaminated soil, highlighting the roles of plants, root-zone microbes, soil animals like earthworms, and specialized bacteria and fungi that can use enzymes to break down plastic polymers into harmless compounds. While genetic engineering of microbes shows promise for accelerating degradation, the review notes that real-world application at scale still requires significant research and development.
Role of microplastics in microbial community structure and functions in urban soils
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Researchers analyzed 42 soil samples from seven types of urban areas and found that microplastics in city soil significantly alter the makeup and activity of microbial communities. Higher microplastic levels were linked to changes in bacteria involved in nutrient cycling and organic matter breakdown. This matters because healthy soil microbes are essential for urban green spaces, food gardens, and ultimately the quality of produce grown in city environments.
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