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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Conventional low-density polyethylene microplastic induce stronger adverse effects on maize–soil–bacteria system than polylactic acid microplastic
ClearEffects 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.
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.
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.
Divergent impacts of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on pesticide fate and toxicity in a soil–chive system, underscoring a soil-plant-microbe disruption
Researchers found that biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics, despite being marketed as eco-friendly, significantly delayed pesticide degradation in soil and increased plant uptake of a toxic pesticide metabolite by up to 59%. PLA disrupted beneficial soil bacteria and interfered with plant detoxification pathways, while conventional polyethylene microplastics had comparatively milder effects. The study suggests that biodegradable plastics may pose unexpected risks when they interact with pesticides in agricultural soils.
The plastisphere of biodegradable and conventional microplastics from residues exhibit distinct microbial structure, network and function in plastic-mulching farmland
Researchers compared the bacterial communities that colonize biodegradable and conventional plastic microplastics in farmland soil. They found that biodegradable plastics (PBAT/PLA) and conventional polyethylene each attracted distinct microbial communities with different functions, including bacteria that could degrade plastics or cycle nutrients. The results suggest that even biodegradable plastics create unique microbial environments in soil that may affect soil health and function in unexpected ways.
Insights into soil microbial assemblages and nitrogen cycling function responses to conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Researchers compared how biodegradable polylactic acid and conventional PVC microplastics affect soil bacteria and nitrogen cycling processes. They found that both types of microplastics altered microbial communities, but biodegradable plastics had distinct effects on nitrogen-processing bacteria and did not simply behave as a harmless alternative. The study suggests that switching to biodegradable plastics may change rather than eliminate the impact of microplastic contamination on soil health.
Microplastics 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.
Discrepant responses of bacterial community and enzyme activities to conventional and biodegradable microplastics in paddy soil
Researchers compared the soil effects of conventional polypropylene microplastics versus biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics in rice paddy soil over 41 days. Both types altered soil chemistry and bacterial communities, but they had different effects on enzyme activity, with PLA causing distinct changes to carbon and nitrogen cycling. This matters because biodegradable plastics, often assumed to be safer, still release microplastics that affect soil health and potentially food crops.
Soil application of PE and PLA microplastics alter earthworm (Eisenia nordenskioldi) gut bacterial community and soil microbiome-metabolome dynamics
Researchers compared the effects of conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics on earthworm gut bacteria and soil ecosystems over 120 days. They found that polyethylene had a more significant impact on soil microbial communities and metabolic processes than PLA at environmentally relevant concentrations. The study highlights that both types of microplastics can alter soil ecosystems, but conventional plastics may pose greater ecological risks.
Impacts of conventional and biodegradable microplastics in maize-soil ecosystems: Above and below ground
Researchers compared the effects of conventional plastics (polyethylene and polypropylene) and biodegradable plastics (PBAT and PCL) on corn plants and soil health. One biodegradable plastic, PCL, reduced plant production by about 74% and severely disrupted soil enzyme activity and microbial communities. This study cautions that simply replacing conventional plastics with biodegradable alternatives in farming is not guaranteed to be safer for soil ecosystems.
Effects of different microplastics on the physicochemical properties and microbial diversity of rice rhizosphere soil
Researchers compared how conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics, both fresh and aged, affect rice paddy soil properties and microbial communities. They found that aged microplastics had stronger effects than fresh ones, altering soil pH, nutrient availability, and the composition of root-associated bacteria. The study warns that biodegradable plastics are not necessarily safer for soil health than conventional plastics, especially as they break down over time.
Field response of N2O emissions, microbial communities, soil biochemical processes and winter barley growth to the addition of conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Researchers conducted a field study comparing the effects of conventional polyethylene and biodegradable PLA microplastics on soil greenhouse gas emissions, microbial communities, and winter barley growth. They found that both types of microplastics altered soil nitrogen cycling and microbial community composition, though biodegradable plastics showed distinct degradation patterns. The study suggests that switching to biodegradable agricultural plastics does not necessarily eliminate the environmental impacts of microplastic contamination in farmland soils.
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.
Soil Microbial Biomass and Microarthropod Community Responses to Conventional and Biodegradable Plastics
Researchers assessed the medium-term effects of conventional polyethylene plastic mulch versus biodegradable alternatives on soil microbial biomass and microarthropod communities. They found that both plastic types and their residues in soil influenced biological communities over time, though the specific impacts differed between conventional and biodegradable materials. The study provides evidence that switching to bioplastic mulches may alter, but not necessarily eliminate, the effects of plastic residues on soil ecosystems.
A review of soil pollution from LDPE mulching films and the consequences of the substitute biodegradable plastic on soil health
This review examines how conventional plastic mulch films break down into micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soil, disrupting soil health, microbial communities, and plant growth. Researchers compare these effects with biodegradable plastic mulches, which are designed to decompose more safely. The study highlights that while biodegradable alternatives show promise, more research is needed to fully understand their long-term effects on soil ecosystems.
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.
Microplastics distribution and microbial community characteristics of farmland soil under different mulch methods
This study compared microplastic distribution and soil microbial community structure in farmland soils under different plastic film mulching methods including no mulch, biodegradable film, and conventional polyethylene film. Mulching method significantly altered both microplastic abundance and microbial diversity in the top soil layer.
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.
Discrepant soil microbial community and C cycling function responses to conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Scientists compared how conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics affect soil microbial communities and carbon cycling. Researchers found that the two types of microplastics had markedly different effects, with biodegradable plastics causing more changes to microbial community structure and carbon-related gene activity. The study suggests that biodegradable plastics, while designed to be more environmentally friendly, may still significantly alter soil biology.
Microbial metabolism influences microplastic perturbation of dissolved organic matter in agricultural soils
Researchers studied how microplastics from both traditional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid plastics change the chemistry of dissolved organic matter in farm soil. Soil microbes broke down substances released by the plastics, altering the soil's chemical composition over 100 days. Surprisingly, the biodegradable plastic released compounds that soil bacteria could more readily use, and after aging, it had roughly 10 times the pollutant-absorbing capacity of polyethylene, suggesting that so-called biodegradable plastics may pose their own environmental risks in agricultural soil.
Biodegradable microplastics decreased plant-derived and increased microbial-derived carbon formation in soil: a two-year field trial
A two-year field experiment compared the effects of conventional (polypropylene) and biodegradable (polylactic acid, PLA) microplastics on soil carbon cycling in agricultural soil. Researchers found that while neither plastic type changed total soil carbon levels, PLA microplastics significantly reduced plant-derived carbon (lignin) by 32% while boosting microbial-derived carbon, suggesting that "biodegradable" plastics still meaningfully alter soil biology and chemistry. This matters because it challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are environmentally benign once they break down in farmland.
Microbiome dynamics of soils covered by plastic and bioplastic mulches
Researchers compared how conventional polyethylene plastic mulch and biodegradable Mater-Bi bioplastic mulch affect soil microbiomes over 12 months in controlled conditions. Bioplastic mulch increased bacterial diversity over time and favored distinct microbial communities, though fungal and microarthropod communities were not significantly affected by mulch type, highlighting that bioplastics interact with soil life differently than conventional plastics.
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.
Nonlinear microbial nutrient limitation responses to biodegradable vs. conventional microplastics under long-term agricultural management
Researchers sampled long-term agricultural plots to compare how biodegradable and conventional microplastics affect microbial nutrient limitation in soil. Both types of MPs altered microbial metabolism, with biodegradable MPs in some cases causing greater disruption to nutrient cycling than conventional plastics.