Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Concentration‐ and Size‐Dependent Influences of Microplastics on Soil Hydraulic Properties and Water Flow

Researchers investigated how microplastic concentration and particle size affect soil hydraulic properties and water flow. They found that microplastic contamination reduced saturated conductivity by up to 50% and inhibited water infiltration, with higher concentrations and larger particle sizes leading to weaker soil water-holding capacity.

2025 European Journal of Soil Science 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on the hydraulic properties and pore characteristics of compacted soil

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics affect the hydraulic properties and pore structure of compacted soil, finding that higher microplastic concentrations disrupted pore size distribution and reduced saturated hydraulic conductivity while altering water retention capacity.

2025 Soil and Tillage Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil texture governs the influence of different microplastics on soil hydraulic properties

This study tested how different types of microplastics affect soil hydraulic properties across varying soil textures, finding that soil texture strongly governs the magnitude of MP impacts on water retention and hydraulic conductivity, with fine-textured soils showing different responses than coarse-textured ones.

2025 Vadose Zone Journal 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics effects on wettability, pore sizes and saturated hydraulic conductivity of a loess topsoil

Researchers tested how polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polystyrene microplastics at concentrations already found in farmland soils affect key physical properties of agricultural soil. They found that adding microplastics reduced the soil's ability to conduct water and hold moisture, with larger particles at higher concentrations causing the greatest changes. The study suggests that microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils could alter water movement and availability in ways that may affect crop growth.

2023 Geoderma 65 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil

Researchers examined how different types of microplastics move through soil and affect water infiltration. They found that polypropylene, being more hydrophobic, impeded water flow more strongly than polyethylene terephthalate, while PET was more mobile in the soil column. The study suggests that a microplastic's surface properties and density play key roles in determining both how it travels through soil and how much it disrupts water movement.

2025 iScience 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic induces soil water repellency and limits capillary flow

Laboratory experiments showed that microplastics mixed with sandy soil induced water repellency and reduced capillary water flow, with the magnitude of the effect depending on MP content and the relative sizes of MP and soil particles. The findings suggest that microplastic accumulation in soil can impair water infiltration and potentially disrupt plant-available water in agricultural soils.

2022 Vadose Zone Journal 45 citations
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how particle properties influence movement through porous media. The study aimed to improve understanding of subsurface microplastic fate and transport relevant to both soil and groundwater contamination.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic polymer type impacts water infiltration and its own transport in soil

Researchers conducted laboratory soil column experiments to examine how microplastic polymer type affects both water infiltration rates and the transport of the plastic particles themselves through soil, testing the two most commonly used agricultural microplastic types under controlled hydrological conditions. The study found that polymer type significantly influenced both water flow dynamics and microplastic mobility in soil, with important implications for predicting plastic fate in agricultural and natural terrestrial ecosystems.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in agricultural soils: The role of soil texture in modulating oxygen diffusivity and soil respiration

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.

2025 Soil Biology and Biochemistry 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions between water flow and microplastics in silt loam and loamy sand

Researchers found that increasing microplastic content (1-7% w/w) in both silt loam and loamy sand soils enhanced water infiltration rates, driving microplastic particles deeper into the soil profile. The study reveals a feedback mechanism where microplastics alter the very water flow patterns responsible for their own transport and distribution.

2021 Soil Science Society of America Journal 43 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on the water characteristic curve of soils with different textures

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics at different concentrations and sizes affect the water-holding properties of sandy and loamy soils. The study found that low concentrations had minimal impact, while high concentrations significantly altered soil water characteristics, with small microplastics improving water retention in loamy soil and larger particles reducing water content in sandy soil.

2023 Chemosphere 133 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil texture is an important factor determining how microplastics affect soil hydraulic characteristics

This study tested how polypropylene microplastics of different sizes affect how water moves through three types of soil. Adding microplastics reduced the soil's ability to absorb and hold water by up to 96%, with clay soils being the most affected. These changes to soil water flow could affect crop growth and potentially increase the movement of other pollutants through contaminated farmland.

2022 Environment International 266 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of Polypropylene Microplastic on Soil Water Characteristic Curve

Researchers experimentally measured the effect of polypropylene microplastics of varying sizes and concentrations on the soil water characteristic curve of silty sand, finding that microplastic addition alters soil pore structure in ways that modify water retention and drainage behavior with implications for agricultural productivity.

2025
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics on Soil Hydraulic Properties

Researchers investigated how pristine and UV-weathered polypropylene granules and polyester fibers affect soil hydraulic properties in a silt loam soil, finding that microplastic incorporation altered bulk density, saturated hydraulic conductivity, water holding capacity, and aggregate stability in ways that depended on particle shape and weathering state.

2022 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Water retention and hydraulic properties of a natural soil subjected to microplastic contaminations and leachate exposures

Researchers studied how microplastic contamination affects the water-holding and flow properties of compacted soil, a scenario relevant to engineering applications like landfill liners. They found that microplastics altered the soil's ability to retain water and changed both saturated and unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, with effects varying by particle size and leachate age. The study suggests that microplastic-contaminated soils may behave differently than expected in engineered structures.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 25 citations
Article Tier 2

Water infiltration capacity in soil polluted with macroplastics

Researchers measured water infiltration rates in organic-rich coastal soils in central Norway that had accumulated buried macroplastic litter deposited by converging ocean currents, quantifying how macroplastic contamination alters vertical water transport capacity in these ecologically important near-coastal soils.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Impact of Different Microplastics on Soil Evaporation Rates: A Comparative Analysis Across Chernozem, Umbrisol, and Luvisol

Researchers assessed the effects of high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene microplastics at 5% w/w concentration on evaporation rates, dry bulk density, and saturated water content across three soil types (Chernozem, Umbrisol, and Luvisol), finding that all three polymer types significantly altered soil physical properties in ways that varied by both polymer type and soil classification.

2024 Land 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Water infiltration capacity in soil polluted with macroplastics

Researchers investigated how macroplastic litter buried in organic-rich coastal soils in central Norway affects water infiltration and percolation rates, conducting field measurements on outer coastal islands where converging ocean currents deposit large plastic loads, to quantify the hydrological impacts of macroplastic soil contamination.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Modelling the effect of microplastics on soil capillary and film water content and flow

Researchers used physical modelling to investigate how microplastics of different polymer types — including PBAT, LDPE, and others — affect soil capillary and film water content and flow, finding that MP presence alters pore-scale water dynamics in ways that influence subsurface water storage and plant water uptake.

2025
Article Tier 2

Behaviour and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils

Researchers investigated the behavior and transport of microplastics under saturated flow conditions in sediments and soils, examining how physical and chemical properties of microplastic particles influence their mobility through porous geological media. The study addressed knowledge gaps in understanding subsurface microplastic transport relevant to groundwater contamination and the fate of microplastics deposited in terrestrial environments.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Understanding microplastic transport and retention in soil: insights from laboratory and field studies

This study combined laboratory column experiments and field observations to characterize how polyethylene, PBAT, and starch-based biodegradable microplastics move through sandy loam and loamy sand soils under different hydrological conditions. Transport distance and retention depth varied significantly by polymer type and soil texture, with rainfall intensity being a key driver of vertical microplastic migration.

2025
Article Tier 2

Impacts of Microplastics on the Soil Biophysical Environment

Four common microplastic types (polyacrylic fibers, polyamide beads, polyester fibers, PE fragments) were added to loamy sand soil at environmentally relevant concentrations in a garden experiment and effects on soil-water relationships, structure, and microbial function were measured over 5 weeks. Results showed that microplastics altered water repellency, aggregate stability, and microbial activity in a plastic-type-dependent manner, confirming that microplastics can disrupt fundamental soil biophysical processes.

2018 Environmental Science & Technology 1726 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of particle density on the mobility of microplastics in sediments

This study investigates how the density of microplastic particles affects their mobility through soil and potential to reach groundwater, using column experiments with polyethylene particles of different densities. Particle density was found to influence transport behavior, with implications for understanding how microplastics migrate through terrestrial environments.

BOK:ePub (Universitätsbibliothek der Universität f Bodenkultur Wien)
Article Tier 2

Preliminary investigation on effects of size, polymer type, and surface behaviour on the vertical mobility of microplastics in a porous media

Laboratory sand column experiments investigated how microplastic size, polymer type, and surface chemistry influence retention and transport behavior in subsurface environments. Results showed that smaller particles and those with surface modifications traveled farther, informing predictions of microplastic migration in soils and groundwater.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 69 citations