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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Biodegradable Microplastics from Agricultural Mulch Films: Implications for Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria and Plant’s Oxidative Stress
ClearMicroplastics from agricultural mulch films: a threat to growth promoting abilities of bacteria?
Researchers tested how microplastics shed from agricultural plastic mulch films affect soil bacteria that promote plant growth, finding that mulch-derived microplastics reduced the abundance and activity of key plant growth-promoting bacteria. The results suggest agricultural plastic use could undermine soil health and crop productivity.
Degradation of Biodegradable Mulch-Derived Microplastics and Their Effects on Bacterial Communities and Radish Growth in Three Vegetable-Cultivated Purple Soils
Biodegradable mulch films are increasingly used in agriculture as a "greener" alternative to conventional plastic, but their breakdown products — biodegradable microplastics — still have significant effects on soil and crops. A pot experiment across three soil types found that both conventional and biodegradable microplastics altered soil bacteria communities, with biodegradable plastics notably promoting the growth of specific plastic-degrading bacteria. Importantly, the effects on soil chemistry and radish growth varied substantially depending on soil type, suggesting that blanket recommendations about biodegradable mulch safety are premature without site-specific assessment.
Effects of microplastics derived from biodegradable mulch film on different plant species growth and soil properties
Researchers studied how microplastics from biodegradable mulch film affect the growth of five different crop species in soil. They found that cabbages and strawberries were most sensitive, with reduced growth at higher microplastic concentrations, while other crops showed little effect. The findings suggest that even biodegradable plastics can break down into microplastics that may harm certain agricultural crops.
Soil microorganisms play an important role in the detrimental impact of biodegradable microplastics on plants
Researchers found that biodegradable microplastics harmed vegetable crop growth by disrupting the soil microbial community rather than through direct contact with the plants. When soil microorganisms were suppressed, the negative effects of the biodegradable microplastics on plant growth were also reduced. The study suggests that soil bacteria and fungi play a key role in mediating the harmful impacts of biodegradable plastics on agricultural crops.
Comparing the impact of microplastics derived from a biodegradable and a conventional plastic mulch on plant performance
Researchers directly compared how microplastics from biodegradable and conventional plastic mulch films affect plant growth and found that biodegradable plastic particles actually reduced plant biomass more than conventional plastic particles in some cases. This challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always safer for agriculture, since their breakdown products may still harm crops that end up in the human food supply.
Microplastics in agroecosystem – effects of plastic mulch film residues on soil-plant system
This review examines how residues from both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable plastic mulch films accumulate in agricultural soils and affect plant growth and soil health. Both types of mulch film residues are found to have negative effects on the soil-plant system, raising questions about the environmental safety of biodegradable plastic alternatives.
Biodegradable microplastics affect tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth by interfering rhizosphere key phylotypes
Scientists found that biodegradable microplastics, often promoted as eco-friendly alternatives, can negatively affect tomato plant growth by disrupting beneficial soil bacteria around the roots. This suggests that even plastics designed to break down in the environment may still pose risks to agriculture and food production as they degrade into microplastic fragments.
The long-term uncertainty of biodegradable mulch film residues and associated microplastics pollution on plant-soil health
This study investigated the long-term effects of biodegradable mulch film residues and their associated microplastics on soil health and plant growth. Researchers found that as biodegradable films break down faster than conventional plastics, they may actually generate more microplastics in a shorter timeframe. The results raise concerns that biodegradable mulch films, often promoted as eco-friendly alternatives, could pose their own risks to agricultural soil ecosystems.
Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films: Impacts on Soil Microbial Communities and Ecosystem Functions
This review examines how biodegradable plastic mulch films affect soil microbial communities and ecosystem functions compared to conventional polyethylene mulches. Researchers found that while biodegradable films avoid the problem of permanent plastic accumulation, their breakdown products can still alter soil microbiomes and carbon cycling in ways that are not yet fully understood. The study highlights the need for long-term field research to determine whether biodegradable mulches are truly a sustainable alternative for agriculture.
Soil biota modulate the effects of microplastics on biomass and diversity of plant communities
Researchers used mesocosm experiments with natural soil biota to compare the effects of biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics on plant community biomass and diversity. Soil biota modulated the impact of microplastics, with biodegradable plastics showing similar effects to conventional plastics on plant community structure, challenging the assumption that biodegradable alternatives are environmentally benign.
The Structural and Functional Responses of Rhizosphere Bacteria to Biodegradable Microplastics in the Presence of Biofertilizers
Researchers studied how biodegradable microplastics interact with biofertilizers in crop soils and found that even though biodegradable plastics are designed as greener alternatives, they still significantly altered soil bacterial communities and disrupted carbon metabolism pathways. The findings suggest that biodegradable microplastics may affect soil health differently than conventional plastics, but are not necessarily harmless.
Differential responses of soil microbial community structure and function to conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Scientists compared how tiny pieces of regular plastics and "biodegradable" plastics affect helpful bacteria in soil after 6 months. They found that biodegradable plastics actually disrupted soil bacteria more than regular plastics, changing the microbes that help plants grow and cycle nutrients. This matters because these soil bacteria are crucial for growing healthy food, so switching to biodegradable plastics might not be the simple environmental solution we hoped for.
Conventional low-density polyethylene microplastic induce stronger adverse effects on maize–soil–bacteria system than polylactic acid microplastic
A comparison of conventional low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics from mulch film found that LDPE consistently inhibited maize growth while low concentrations of PLA actually promoted it. Both plastic types entered maize root tissues but followed different pathways, and LDPE caused greater harm to soil bacterial communities, suggesting that switching from conventional to biodegradable mulch is genuinely beneficial for agricultural soil health.
From plastic mulching to microplastic pollution : An effect assessment of microplastics in the soil-plant system
This review assessed how plastic mulching films contribute to agricultural microplastic pollution, finding that biodegradable alternatives rarely fully degrade under field conditions and instead fragment into microplastics, with both LDPE and biodegradable microplastics producing measurable ecological effects in soil-plant systems.
Response of peanut plant and soil N-fixing bacterial communities to conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Researchers tested how conventional plastics (polyethylene and polystyrene) and a biodegradable plastic (polylactic acid) affect peanut plant growth and nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria. They found that while none of the plastics reduced plant biomass, the biodegradable PLA at high doses dramatically altered soil nitrogen levels and bacterial community composition. The study suggests that biodegradable plastics may not be as harmless to agricultural soil ecosystems as commonly assumed.
Effects of polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics on plant growth and bacterial community in the soil
Researchers compared the effects of regular polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics on soybean growth and soil bacteria. Surprisingly, the biodegradable microplastics caused more harm than conventional ones, significantly reducing root growth and altering soil bacterial communities important for nitrogen fixation. This finding challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always safer for the environment and raises questions about their impact on food crops.
Microplastics from conventional and biodegradable mulch films alter microbial necromass accumulation and organic carbon sequestration in farmland soils
Researchers compared how microplastics from conventional polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films affect soil organic carbon storage over 120 days. They found that both types of microplastics altered microbial activity and reduced the accumulation of microbial-derived carbon in soil. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastics, once broken into microplastics, may interfere with soil carbon sequestration in farmland.
Plastic Mulch‐Derived Microplastics in Agricultural Soil Systems
This review examines how plastic mulch films widely used in agriculture degrade via photodegradation, chemical processes, and microbial activity to form microplastics, and discusses how these microplastics affect soil properties, plant growth, soil microbiomes, and broader agricultural ecosystem health.
Are mulch biofilms used in agriculture an environmentally friendly solution? - An insight into their biodegradability and ecotoxicity using key organisms in soil ecosystems
Researchers assessed the biodegradation and ecotoxicity of a commercial biodegradable mulch biofilm in soil systems. The study found that while marketed as environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional plastic mulch, biodegradable films did not fully degrade under natural soil conditions as certification standards would predict. The results suggest that more rigorous testing under realistic field conditions is needed before assuming these products are safe for soil ecosystems.
Effect of Long-Term Biodegradable Film Mulch on Soil Physicochemical and Microbial Properties
Long-term use of biodegradable mulch film was compared to conventional plastic and no-mulch controls in terms of soil physical, chemical, and microbial properties, with results showing that biodegradable mulch altered soil structure and microbial diversity in ways differing from both conventional plastic and bare soil. The findings raise questions about the cumulative effects of biodegradable plastic residues on agricultural soil health.
Effect of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on the soil-soybean system: A perspective on rhizosphere microbial community and soil element cycling
This study compared how conventional polyethylene microplastics and biodegradable alternatives (PBAT and PLA) affect soil bacteria and nutrient cycling in soybean fields. The biodegradable microplastics actually caused more harm to soybean growth than conventional ones, reducing shoot biomass by up to 34% and disrupting nitrogen availability in soil. This challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always better for the environment and raises questions about their impact on agricultural productivity and food security.
Impact of microplastics from polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films on rice (Oryza sativa L.)
Researchers studied how microplastics from both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films affect rice growth. Both types of microplastics reduced plant height and weight, caused oxidative stress, inhibited photosynthesis, and altered gene expression related to nutrient uptake. This study is important because it shows that even biodegradable plastics can harm food crops, raising concerns about the quality and safety of rice grown in microplastic-contaminated agricultural soil.
Are biodegradable mulch films a sustainable solution to microplastic mulch film pollution? A biogeochemical perspective
This review asks whether biodegradable mulch films are truly a sustainable alternative to conventional plastic films used in agriculture. Researchers found that biodegradable microplastics may actually accumulate more readily in soil than traditional microplastics because they require specific conditions to fully break down. The study warns that biodegradable films could alter soil carbon and nitrogen cycling, microbial communities, and greenhouse gas emissions in ways not yet fully understood.
Biodegradable Film Mulching Increases Soil Carbon Sequestration and Microbial Network Complexity in a Long-Term Field Study
Scientists studied biodegradable plastic mulch (the plastic sheeting farmers use to cover soil) and found it helps soil store more carbon and support healthier microbial communities compared to regular plastic mulch. However, the biodegradable plastic still breaks down into microplastics in the soil, raising questions about long-term environmental effects. This matters because while biodegradable farm plastics may help fight climate change by storing carbon, we still need to understand how the microplastics they leave behind might affect our food system.