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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Transformation of Polylactic Acid (PLA) Microparticles in Soil and their Effects on Soil Properties: A Review
ClearEffect of polylactic acid microplastics on soil properties, soil microbials and plant growth
Researchers tested whether microplastics from biodegradable polylactic acid plastic, often proposed as an eco-friendly alternative to conventional plastic, affect soil health and plant growth. High concentrations of these biodegradable microplastics reduced soil pH, altered the ratio of carbon to nitrogen, decreased plant growth, and shifted soil microbial communities. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastics can negatively affect agricultural ecosystems when they break down into microplastic-sized particles.
Mineralization and microbial utilization of poly(lactic acid) microplastic in soil
Researchers tracked how polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics, a common biodegradable plastic, actually break down in different agricultural soils. They found that standard testing methods significantly overestimate how quickly PLA degrades because they fail to account for interactions with soil organic matter. The study reveals that PLA microplastics may persist longer in some soils than previously thought, raising questions about how truly biodegradable these materials are in real-world conditions.
Hydrolyzable microplastics in soil—low biodegradation but formation of a specific microbial habitat?
Hydrolyzable microplastics such as polylactic acid showed low biodegradation in soil despite their marketed degradability, while their surfaces hosted distinct microbial communities forming a specialized plastisphere. The study questions the environmental safety of biodegradable plastics in agricultural soil contexts.
Unveiling the impact of biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics on meadow soil health
Scientists studied how biodegradable PLA microplastics affect meadow soil over 60 days and found they changed soil chemistry, enzyme activity, and microbial communities. Smaller PLA particles had a greater impact on enzyme activity, while larger particles changed soil properties more. These findings suggest that even biodegradable plastics can significantly alter soil health when they break down into microplastics.
[Effects of Polylactic Acid Microplastics （PLA-MPs） on Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Communities of Wheat Rhizosphere Soil].
Researchers investigated how polylactic acid microplastics affect wheat rhizosphere soil and found that they significantly altered soil chemistry, increasing phosphorus and organic matter while decreasing total nitrogen and pH. The microplastics also reduced the richness and diversity of soil microorganisms, with larger particles and higher concentrations causing the greatest disruption. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastics can meaningfully reshape soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling in agricultural settings.
Unveiling the impact of biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics on meadow soil health
A 60-day incubation experiment found that polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics of varying sizes and concentrations increased soil pH, organic matter, nitrogen, and enzyme activities in meadow soils, while also shifting microbial community composition.
Microplastics alter soil structure and microbial community composition
Researchers found that both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics break down soil structure in similar ways, increasing the proportion of smaller soil clumps while reducing larger, more stable ones. The microplastics also significantly altered soil bacterial communities, with effects varying by particle size. This matters because changes to soil health can affect the food we grow and the broader ecosystem services that soil provides.
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.
Impact of moisture on the degradation and priming effects of poly(lactic acid) microplastic
Researchers examined how soil moisture levels affect the degradation of biodegradable poly(lactic acid) microplastics and their influence on soil organic carbon decomposition. The study found that moisture significantly increased PLA degradation in acidic soils, and PLA induced both positive and negative priming effects on native soil carbon depending on moisture levels and soil type.
Effects of polylactic acid microplastics on dissolved organic matter across soil types: Insights into molecular composition
Researchers investigated how biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics affect dissolved organic matter in three different types of paddy soil. They found that the microplastics altered the molecular composition of organic matter in soil-specific ways, with some soils showing increased humic substances and others showing more protein-like compounds. The study highlights that even biodegradable plastics can change soil chemistry, and the effects vary depending on soil type.
Microplastics alter microbial structure and assembly processes in different soil types: Driving effects of environmental factors
Researchers investigated how biodegradable polylactic acid and conventional polyethylene microplastics affect soil microbial communities across different soil types. They found that PLA increased dissolved organic carbon and pH while decreasing nitrogen availability, whereas polyethylene had contrasting effects depending on soil type. The study reveals that microplastic impacts on microbial community structure and assembly processes are soil-type-specific, with dissolved organic carbon driving changes in red soil and pH being the primary factor in fluvo-aquic soil.
MicrobialPhysiologicalAdaptation to BiodegradableMicroplastics Drives the Transformation and Reactivity of DissolvedOrganic Matter in Soil
Researchers added virgin and aged polylactic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoate microplastics to agricultural soils and found that microbial physiological adaptation to biodegradable plastics significantly altered the transformation and reactivity of dissolved organic matter over a 56-day incubation period.
Aging of biodegradable plastics alters soil aggregate stability and organic carbon through shifts in microbial community composition
Researchers examined how polylactic acid (PLA) drinking straw fragments at varying concentrations alter soil aggregate stability, organic carbon, and microbial communities, finding that moderate concentrations initially boosted aggregate stability and microbial diversity before higher concentrations caused decline, while PLA degradation enriched potentially pathogenic bacteria.
Mixing effect of polylactic acid microplastic and straw residue on soil property and ecological function
A pot experiment examined effects of polylactic acid (biodegradable) microplastics and straw residue on soil microbial communities and carbon/nitrogen dynamics, finding that PLA MPs had minimal effect on bacterial diversity but interacted with carbon availability to alter microbial function. The results suggest biodegradable microplastics are not ecologically neutral in 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.
Unravelling the ecological ramifications of biodegradable microplastics in soil environment: A systematic review
Researchers reviewed 85 studies on biodegradable microplastics in soil, finding that when biodegradable plastics fail to fully break down they can disrupt soil structure, nutrient cycling, and microbial life in ways that depend heavily on concentration and plastic type. The review highlights that "biodegradable" plastics are not a simple fix for microplastic pollution in agricultural soils.
Microbial Physiological Adaptation to Biodegradable Microplastics Drives the Transformation and Reactivity of Dissolved Organic Matter in Soil
Researchers studied how soil microbes adapt to biodegradable microplastics (PLA and PHA) and how this affects dissolved organic matter in agricultural soil over 56 days. They found that PLA tripled the oxidation of plant-derived organic matter by activating lignin decomposition pathways, while PHA doubled microbially derived compounds by accelerating bacterial protein synthesis and cell turnover. The study suggests that different biodegradable plastics trigger distinct microbial strategies that reshape soil carbon cycling.
Microbial Degradation of Polylactic Acid Bioplastic
This review covers how microorganisms degrade polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastic under different environmental conditions. Understanding PLA biodegradation is important for assessing whether PLA products actually break down as intended in real-world environments rather than persisting as microplastics.
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.
Biodegradable Polyesters and Low Molecular Weight Polyethylene in Soil: Interrelations of Material Properties, Soil Organic Matter Substances, and Microbial Community
Researchers examined how biodegradable polyesters and low molecular weight polyethylene behave in soil environments, investigating their interactions with soil organic matter and microbial communities over time. They found that both biodegradable and conventional polymer microplastics alter soil microbial community composition and interact with organic matter fractions, with biodegradable plastics showing distinct but not necessarily more benign effects than conventional plastics.
Chlorpyrifos degradation and its impacts on phosphorus bioavailability in microplastic-contaminated soil
This study found that microplastics made from polylactic acid (a biodegradable plastic) in soil changed how the pesticide chlorpyrifos breaks down and altered the availability of phosphorus, a key nutrient for crops. The microplastics slowed pesticide degradation and affected soil enzyme activity, which could impact both food safety and crop nutrition. The findings show that even biodegradable microplastics can disrupt important soil processes that affect the food supply.
Effects of microplastics on soil physical, chemical and biological properties
This review examines how microplastics affect soil health, covering their impact on the physical structure, chemical composition, and biological communities of soil ecosystems. Microplastics can alter soil water retention, change nutrient cycling, and harm soil organisms from earthworms to microbes. Since agricultural soils are a major reservoir of microplastics, these changes could affect crop growth and food quality, creating an indirect pathway for microplastic-related harm to human health.
Polylactic acid synthesis, biodegradability, conversion to microplastics and toxicity: a review
Researchers reviewed polylactic acid (PLA), a popular plant-based "biodegradable" plastic used in packaging and agriculture, finding that while it breaks down inside the body, it does not fully degrade under natural outdoor or aquatic conditions — and in fact fragments into microplastics faster than conventional petroleum-based plastics. This challenges the assumption that bioplastics are a straightforward environmental solution.