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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastic Effects on Soil Aggregation in Sterilized and Non‐Sterilized Soils
ClearMicroplastic effects on soil aggregation in sterilized and non-sterilized soils
Researchers tested how microplastics affect soil aggregate stability in both sterilized and non-sterilized soils, finding that microbial activity mediates much of the structural impact and that plastic type influences aggregation differently depending on soil biology.
Abiotic and Biotic Factors Influencing the Effect of Microplastic on Soil Aggregation
This study examined how abiotic factors (plastic type, concentration) and biotic factors (earthworms, plants) influence microplastic effects on soil aggregation, finding that microplastics disrupted aggregate stability in ways dependent on soil biology.
Small-size polyethylene and polylactic microplastic alterations on soil aggregate formation with soil sterilization
Researchers tested how small polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics affect the formation of soil clumps, called aggregates, which are important for healthy soil structure. The microplastics changed aggregate stability through physical interactions rather than by harming soil microbes. This matters because soil structure affects how well crops grow, and widespread microplastic contamination in agricultural fields could subtly alter soil quality.
Microplastics Influence Dissolved Organic Matter Transformation Mediated by Microbiomes in Soil Aggregates
Researchers conducted a 450-day experiment to study how microplastics alter the transformation of dissolved organic matter within soil aggregates, a process critical for soil stability and fertility. They found that microplastics destabilized organic matter in larger soil clumps while increasing its chemical complexity in smaller ones, with biodegradable plastics having the strongest effects. These changes were driven by shifts in microbial communities, suggesting that microplastic pollution could fundamentally alter how carbon cycles through agricultural soils.
Influence of microplastics on soil aggregate formation: Insights into biological binding agents
A laboratory experiment found that polyethylene microplastics in different shapes (granules, fibers, and films) and aging states significantly alter how soil particles clump together into aggregates, with effects depending on the plastic's shape and the soil's organic matter content. Disruption of soil aggregation by microplastics matters because aggregate structure controls water retention, aeration, and microbial habitat — all fundamental to healthy, productive soils.
Association of microplastics with water-stable aggregates formed under laboratory conditions
Scientists found that tiny plastic particles in soil can break apart the natural clumps that keep soil healthy and stable. Different types of plastics had different effects, with some plastics causing more damage to soil structure than others. This matters because damaged soil could affect how well crops grow and how plastic pollution moves through the environment, potentially impacting our food supply.
The association of microplastics with water-stable aggregates formed under controlled conditions
Researchers compiled data from a controlled study examining the association between microplastics and water-stable soil aggregates, providing the underlying dataset for the linked publication on microplastic-aggregate interactions.
The association of microplastics with water-stable aggregates formed under controlled conditions
Researchers compiled data examining how microplastics associate with water-stable soil aggregates formed under controlled laboratory conditions, providing a dataset supporting the linked publication on microplastic-soil aggregate interactions.
Microplastics Can Inhibit Organic Carbon Mineralization by Influencing Soil Aggregate Distribution and Microbial Community Structure in Cultivated Soil: Evidence from a One-Year Pot Experiment
Researchers conducted a one-year pot experiment to study how different types and concentrations of microplastics affect soil carbon cycling and aggregate stability. They found that microplastics significantly altered soil aggregate size distribution and decreased organic carbon mineralization rates regardless of polymer type. The study suggests that microplastic contamination may slow the natural breakdown of organic carbon in agricultural soils by changing soil structure and microbial communities.
Microplastics sequestered in the soil affect the turnover and stability of soil aggregates: A review
This review examines how microplastics trapped in soil affect the structure and stability of soil clumps (aggregates) that are essential for healthy farming. Microplastics create weak points in soil structure and alter its physical and chemical properties, which can reduce soil's ability to hold water and support plant growth. Since healthy soil aggregates are the foundation of productive farmland, microplastic contamination could threaten food production over the long term.
Aging microplastics and coupling of “microplastic-electric fields” can affect soil water-stable aggregates’ stability
Researchers investigated how aged microplastics from polystyrene and polypropylene affect the stability of soil aggregates, which are important for soil health. The study found that weathered microplastics can break down the structure of water-stable soil aggregates, and that the combination of microplastics with electric fields further destabilizes soil, suggesting long-term consequences for soil quality.
Comparing the long-term responses of soil microbial structures and diversities to polyethylene microplastics in different aggregate fractions
Long-term soil incubation with polyethylene microplastics found that MPs altered aggregate stability, inhibited soil enzyme activities, and changed microbial community structure and diversity differently across soil aggregate size fractions, with effects persisting over time.
The Re-distribution of Pristine and Aged Microplastics (<50 µm) in Soil Aggregate Fractions
Researchers investigated how pristine and aged microplastics smaller than 50 micrometers redistribute among soil aggregate fractions during aggregation in two soil textures amended with organic matter, finding that aggregate formation actively partitions microplastics in ways influenced by soil texture and particle aging.
Inhibitory effect of microplastics on soil extracellular enzymatic activities by changing soil properties and direct adsorption: An investigation at the aggregate-fraction level
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect the activity of soil enzymes over 150 days, examining responses across different soil aggregate sizes. They found that microplastics inhibited enzyme activities by altering soil properties, directly adsorbing enzymes, and competing with microorganisms for space. The study reveals that microplastic pollution can undermine key biological processes that maintain soil quality, with different soil aggregate fractions responding in distinct ways.
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.
Polymer-specific impacts of microplastics on mineral retention and soil stability
A laboratory study tested six common plastic polymers in soil and found polymer-specific effects on mineral retention and soil aggregate stability, with some MPs reducing soil structure while others had minimal impact, depending on polymer chemistry and surface interactions with soil particles.
Effects of the oversized microplastic pollution layer on soil aggregates and organic carbon at different soil depths
Researchers examined how oversized microplastic pollution layers in soil affect aggregate stability and organic carbon at different depths, finding that plastic films disrupted soil aggregate formation and altered carbon distribution, with effects varying by soil depth and plastic concentration.
Microplastics InfluenceDissolved Organic Matter TransformationMediated by Microbiomes in Soil Aggregates
A 450-day incubation study found that microplastics altered dissolved organic matter (DOM) transformation in soil aggregates by disrupting microbiome composition and activity, with effects differing between macro- and micro-aggregate fractions.
Microplastic effects on soil system parameters: a meta-analysis study
Microplastics in soil did not significantly affect dissolved organic carbon, nutrient availability, microbial diversity, or crop biomass, but they did significantly increase soil microorganism abundance and decrease water-stable macro-aggregates, pointing to soil structure degradation as the primary concern.
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.