Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Response of soil biochemical properties and ecosystem function to microplastics pollution

This study found that polyethylene microplastics significantly disrupted soil health by reducing enzyme activity, lowering nutrient availability, and impairing overall ecosystem function. Smaller microplastics caused more damage than larger ones, and the effects were dose-dependent, suggesting that as microplastic pollution accumulates in agricultural soil, it could increasingly threaten the soil health that food production depends on.

2024 Scientific Reports 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Plastic Residues on Soil Properties and Crop Productivity: A Comprehensive Research Study

This agricultural field study assessed how plastic residues at varying contamination levels affect soil physical, chemical, and biological properties and crop productivity, finding that higher microplastic concentrations disrupted soil structure, reduced microbial activity, and lowered plant growth.

2025 Futuristic Biotechnology
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Polyethylene Microplastics on Soil Nutrients and Enzyme Activities].

Researchers studied how different concentrations and sizes of polyethylene microplastics affect soil chemistry and enzyme activity over four months. They found that smaller microplastics had a greater impact on soil nutrient cycling than larger ones, and that higher concentrations more significantly disrupted enzyme functions critical for soil health. The study indicates that microplastic pollution in agricultural soils could impair the biological processes that maintain soil fertility.

2024 PubMed 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic: Evaluating the Impact on Soil-Microbes and Plant System

This review examines how microplastics affect soil microbial communities and plant systems in agricultural settings, documenting impacts on soil health, microbial diversity, and crop physiology. As microplastics accumulate in farmland soils through irrigation, sludge application, and plastic mulches, their effects on the soil ecosystem that underpins food production are a growing concern.

2023 ACS symposium series 2 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

Microplastics Can Change Soil Properties and Affect Plant Performance

Researchers tested six different types of microplastics in soil and found that they altered key soil properties including water-holding capacity, bulk density, and microbial activity. These changes in soil structure had cascading effects on plant growth, with some microplastic types reducing above-ground biomass. The study demonstrates that microplastics can fundamentally change how soil functions, with consequences for plant health and ecosystem stability.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 1910 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastic pollution on agricultural soil and crops based on a global meta‐analysis

This meta-analysis examined data from studies worldwide to assess how microplastic pollution affects agricultural soil and crops. Researchers found that microplastics can alter soil properties including enzyme activity and nutrient availability, with effects varying by plastic type, concentration, and size. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in farmland may affect both soil health and crop growth in ways that depend heavily on local conditions.

2023 Land Degradation and Development 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated effects of residual plastic films on soil-rhizosphere microbe-plant ecosystem.

This pot experiment investigated how residual plastic film fragments of different sizes in agricultural soil affect soil properties, microbial enzyme activity, nutrient levels, and plant growth. Larger plastic residues caused greater disruption to soil health and reduced crop yield, suggesting that accumulated mulch film pollution poses a serious threat to long-term agricultural productivity.

2023 Journal of hazardous materials
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Contamination in Agricultural Soils: Impacts on soil properties and plant performance

This review synthesized research on microplastic contamination in agricultural soils, examining how MPs affect soil physical properties, chemistry, and plant growth performance. It identified key knowledge gaps around MP accumulation rates, long-term soil effects, and impacts on food crop yields.

2025 University of Southern Queensland research data collection
Article Tier 2

Micro and nano-plastics on environmental health: a review on future thrust in agro-ecotoxicology management

This review examines the growing body of evidence on how microplastics and nanoplastics affect plant health, soil microbial communities, and agricultural productivity. The study highlights that plastic accumulation in agricultural soils can alter crop growth and yield while disrupting soil ecosystem dynamics, and calls for greater attention to agro-ecotoxicology management to address these emerging threats to food production.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic residues in wetland ecosystems: Do they truly threaten the plant-microbe-soil system?

Researchers used a controlled pot experiment to assess microplastic effects on wetland plant growth, soil microbial communities, and nutrient cycling, finding that MPs altered soil enzyme activity and shifted bacterial community composition but had variable effects on plant growth depending on plastic type.

2021 Environment International 238 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of soil microplastic contamination on maize (Zea mays) development and microbial dynamics

Researchers grew maize (corn) in soil contaminated with varying amounts of microplastics and found that higher microplastic levels disrupted soil bacteria and fungi, caused leaf damage like yellowing and tissue death, and led to elevated heavy metals in plant tissue above safe limits. The results point to serious risks microplastics pose to crop health, soil ecosystems, and food safety.

2024 Discover Environment 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Tiny pollutants, big consequences: investigating the influence of nano- and microplastics on soil properties and plant health with mitigation strategies

Researchers reviewed the impact of nanoplastics and microplastics on soil properties and plant health, examining absorption and translocation mechanisms in plants. The study suggests that plastic particles alter soil structure and microbial communities, impair plant growth and nutrient uptake, and proposes mitigation strategies to address these emerging threats to agricultural ecosystems.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 1 citations
Article Tier 2

High‐density polyethylene microplastics in agricultural soil: Impact on microbes, enzymes, and carbon‐nitrogen ratio

Researchers assessed the impact of high-density polyethylene microplastics at various concentrations on agricultural soil over 60 days. The study found that microplastics caused non-uniform effects on microbial populations, reduced key enzyme activities through hydrogen bond formation with enzymes, and significantly altered the soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, suggesting potential long-term consequences for soil health.

2024 Journal of Environmental Quality 11 citations
Article Tier 2

[Adverse Effects and Underlying Mechanisms of Soil Microplastics on Crops and Its Preventive Strategies].

This review summarizes the pollution status of microplastics in agricultural soils and their adverse effects on crops, including mechanical damage, oxidative stress, and genotoxicity leading to disrupted plant growth and metabolism. Researchers also examined how hazardous substances released from microplastics and contaminants adsorbed onto their surfaces contribute to soil ecosystem harm. The study identifies source control and biodegradation as the most promising strategies for reducing microplastic risks to crop production.

2025 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in agroecosystems: A review of effects on soil biota and key soil functions

This review examines how microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in agricultural soils affects soil organisms and ecological functions. Researchers found that plastics enter farmland through multiple pathways including plastic mulch, sewage sludge, and irrigation water, and once present they alter soil properties and exhibit toxic behavior toward soil biota. The study identifies significant knowledge gaps about the long-term impacts of microplastic accumulation on agricultural productivity and food safety.

2022 Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 79 citations
Article Tier 2

Tiny toxins, big problems: the hidden threat of microplastic in agroecosystems

This review examines the impacts of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils, covering sources from plastic mulch and irrigation, effects on soil structure, water retention, microbial diversity, and nutrient cycling, and consequences for crop health and food safety.

2025 Plant Science Today
Article Tier 2

The impact of microplastics on soil ecosystems: A review

This review examines how microplastics accumulate in soil from sources like sewage sludge, agricultural plastic mulch, and wastewater, and how they affect soil ecosystems. Evidence indicates that microplastics alter soil physical and chemical properties, disrupt microbial communities and enzyme activity, and can harm plant growth and soil organisms. The authors highlight that soil microplastic pollution has received far less research attention compared to aquatic environments, despite its potential consequences for agriculture and food safety.

2024 International Journal of Research in Agronomy 2 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Soil microplastic characteristics and the effects on soil properties and biota: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Meta-analysis of 2,886 experimental groups found that microplastics significantly decreased soil bulk density and aggregate stability, indicating structural damage, while also reducing plant root biomass and soil phosphatase activity. Invertebrates were more sensitive to microplastics than other soil organisms, as particles can pass through nematode gut walls causing oxidative stress and altered gene expression.

2022 Environmental Pollution 228 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic interactions in the agroecosystems: methodological advances and limitations in quantifying microplastics from agricultural soil

This review examines how microplastics behave in agricultural soils and their effects on soil quality and crop growth. Researchers found that microplastics alter key soil properties like water retention, density, and microbial composition, and can make other pollutants like heavy metals more available to plants. The study also highlights gaps in current methods for isolating and identifying microplastics in soil samples.

2024 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Legacy effect of microplastics on plant–soil feedbacks

Researchers examined the legacy effects of microplastic contamination on plant-soil feedbacks using soil previously conditioned with various microplastic types, finding that residual microplastics altered soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling in ways that affected subsequent plant growth.

2022 Frontiers in Plant Science 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro (nano) plastic pollution: The ecological influence on soil-plant system and human health.

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics affect soil health, plant growth, and food quality, finding that these particles accumulate in plant root systems and can reduce crop yields and alter nutritional content. Since contaminated soil and water are increasingly delivering microplastics to food crops, these findings are directly relevant to agricultural food safety.

2021 The Science of the total environment
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the impacts of microplastic pollution on soil health: A comprehensive review

This review summarizes research from 2021-2024 on how microplastics in agricultural soil harm crop growth, reduce soil organism survival and reproduction, disrupt microbial communities, and alter nutrient cycling. These soil health impacts are relevant to human health because they can compromise food safety and allow microplastics to enter the food supply through contaminated crops.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 44 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Effects of plastic residues and microplastics on soil ecosystems: A global meta-analysis

Global meta-analysis of 6,223 observations found that plastic residues and microplastics decreased soil water movement by 14%, dissolved organic carbon by 10%, and total nitrogen by 7%, while reducing plant height by 13% and root biomass by 14%. Soil animal body mass and reproduction decreased by 5% and 11% respectively, though soil enzyme activity increased by 7-441%.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 252 citations