Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on soil microbiome: The impacts of polymer type, shape, and concentration

Researchers examined how different microplastic polymer types, shapes, and concentrations affected soil bacterial communities, finding that these physical characteristics induced distinct shifts in soil microbiome composition and diversity.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 215 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanisms of polyethylene microplastics on microbial community assembly and carbon-nitrogen transformation potentials in soils with different textures

Researchers used DNA sequencing to examine how polyethylene microplastics affect soil microbial communities and carbon-nitrogen cycling across soils with different textures. They found that microplastics significantly shifted microbial community composition and altered the abundance of genes involved in carbon and nitrogen transformation, with effects varying by soil type. The study suggests that microplastic contamination may disrupt fundamental nutrient cycling processes differently depending on soil characteristics.

2025 Environmental Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial Isolates in Microplastic-Polluted Soil

Researchers isolated and characterized microbial communities from microplastic-polluted soil, identifying bacteria capable of colonizing plastic surfaces and assessing their potential roles in plastic degradation and soil nutrient cycling.

2024 African Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Research
Article Tier 2

Microplastic particles alter wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function

Researchers found that microplastic particles altered wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function, with different polymer types inducing distinct shifts in bacterial diversity and nutrient cycling processes.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities under contrasting soil environments

Researchers compared microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities across contrasting soil environments, finding that the type of microplastic polymer and soil conditions together determine whether microbial activity and carbon cycling are stimulated or suppressed.

2024
Article Tier 2

Microplastics increase soil microbial network complexity and trigger diversity-driven community assembly

Researchers found that microplastics in soil increased bacterial network complexity and shifted microbial community assembly in a diversity-dependent manner, with high-density polyethylene causing more harm to plant growth than polystyrene or polylactic acid particles.

2023 Environmental Pollution 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Time-dependent effects of microplastics on soil bacteriome

Researchers studied how six common types of microplastics affect soil bacteria over time at realistic contamination levels. The effects were slow to appear due to the chemical stability of plastics, but over time, microplastics altered bacterial community structure and soil functions in ways that differed by plastic type. This matters because changes to soil bacteria can affect nutrient cycling and crop health, with potential downstream effects on food quality.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing Microplastic Contamination Effects on Soil Microbial Communities in Agricultural Land

This study sampled agricultural soils with varying degrees of microplastic contamination to assess effects on microbial diversity, abundance, and enzymatic activity, finding that higher microplastic concentrations reduced microbial diversity and suppressed nutrient-cycling enzyme activity.

2025 ACADEMIA Biota Nexus Journal
Article Tier 2

Characterizing Microplastic Pollution and Microbial Community Status in Rice Paddy Soils Across Varied Environmental Settings in Songjiang, Shanghai: An Analysis of Morpho-Chemical Characteristics

Researchers characterized microplastic pollution and associated microbial communities in rice paddy soils, finding widespread microplastic contamination that correlated with shifts in soil bacterial diversity. Plastic-associated microbial communities differed from bulk soil communities, suggesting microplastics create distinct microbial niches in agricultural environments.

2024 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology (IJISRT) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on the microbial community structure of maize rhizosphere soil

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics from agricultural films affect the microbial communities in crop root zones (rhizosphere), finding shifts in bacterial diversity and function. Disrupting soil microbiomes through microplastic contamination could have downstream effects on soil fertility and crop health.

2021 中国生态农业学报 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics shape microbial communities affecting soil organic matter decomposition in paddy soil

Researchers found that microplastics shape soil microbial communities in paddy soils in ways that affect organic matter decomposition, revealing how bacterial succession and carbon cycling are altered by microplastic presence in agricultural systems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 181 citations
Article Tier 2

Deciphering the Mechanisms Shaping the Plastisphere Microbiota in Soil

Researchers characterized bacterial communities colonizing biodegradable and conventional microplastics in soil, finding that polymer type and biodegradability shaped distinct plastisphere communities, with deterministic processes playing a stronger role in community assembly than in surrounding soil.

2022 mSystems 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil microplastics pollution can reduce viral abundance and have less consistent impacts on bacteria

Researchers exposed soils containing natural microbial communities to polyethylene and PVC microplastics and found that both types consistently reduced viral abundance, while effects on bacteria were more variable, suggesting microplastic pollution may alter the balance of microbial communities that regulate soil processes.

2025 Applied Soil Ecology
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics alter soil microbial community assembly and ecosystem multifunctionality

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics at different concentrations affect soil microbial communities and overall ecosystem function in a maize growing system. They found that higher concentrations of microplastics shifted microbial community composition, reduced beneficial bacteria involved in nutrient cycling, and impaired multiple soil ecosystem functions simultaneously. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils can undermine the biological processes that support healthy crop growth.

2023 Environment International 114 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial communities associated with plastic mulch debris in agricultural soils

Researchers characterized microbial communities colonizing agricultural plastic mulch debris in soil using both culture-dependent and high-throughput sequencing methods. The plastic surfaces harbored distinct microbial communities compared to surrounding soil. Understanding which microbes colonize agricultural plastic debris is important for assessing biodegradation potential and the ecological role of the plastisphere in farmland.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils: Source apportionment and impact on soil microbial community structure

Researchers investigated microplastic accumulation patterns in intensively farmed agricultural soils at multiple depth intervals, using polymer fingerprinting to apportion contamination sources among plastic mulch, treated wastewater irrigation, and organic amendment application. The study assessed impacts on soil microbial community structure using FTIR-confirmed microplastics extracted by zinc chloride density flotation.

2024 International Journal of Agriculture Extension and Social Development
Article Tier 2

MicroplasticDiversityas a Potential Driver of SoilDenitrification Shifts

Researchers conducted a microcosm experiment with four levels of microplastic diversity and used metagenomic sequencing to show that increasing microplastic diversity significantly raised soil pH and organic carbon content while driving shifts in denitrification function in soil microbial communities.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Microplastic polymer properties as deterministic factors driving terrestrial plastisphere microbiome assembly and succession in the field

Researchers incubated five common microplastic polymer types in landfill soil for 14 months and used 16S rRNA sequencing to characterize the plastisphere communities that assembled on each polymer. Polymer type was a significant deterministic factor in plastisphere microbiome composition, which differed from surrounding soil communities and varied over time.

2022 Environmental Microbiology 48 citations
Article Tier 2

Succession of soil bacterial communities and network patterns in response to conventional and biodegradable microplastics: A microcosmic study in Mollisol

Using a soil microcosm experiment, researchers compared how conventional polyethylene and biodegradable microplastics affected soil bacterial communities over 90 days across four dosages. Biodegradable microplastics induced greater community dissimilarity from controls and tended to enrich environmentally beneficial taxa, while conventional polyethylene promoted potentially hazardous bacteria.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of florfenicol on soil bacterial community structure and diversity by high throughput sequencing analysis

This paper is not directly about microplastics; it studies how the antibiotic florfenicol affects soil bacterial community structure and diversity at various concentrations and time points, finding measurable disruption to microbial populations even at low doses.

2023 1 citations