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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Insights into soil autotrophic ammonium oxidization under microplastics stress: Crossroads of nitrification, comammox, anammox and Feammox
ClearMicroplastics and anammox: Unravelling the hidden threats to nitrogen cycling and microbial resilience
This review examined how microplastics disrupt nitrogen cycling in soil by interfering with specialized bacteria that remove nitrogen from the environment. Researchers found that microplastics alter microbial habitats, destabilize bacterial communities, and attract heavy metals that further inhibit these essential soil processes, with effects varying based on soil acidity and organic matter content.
Polyethylene microplastic and soil nitrogen dynamics: Unraveling the links between functional genes, microbial communities, and transformation processes
Researchers conducted a six-month experiment to understand how polyethylene microplastics in soil affect nitrogen cycling, a process critical for soil fertility and plant nutrition. They found that while total nitrogen levels stayed stable, microplastics significantly altered the forms of nitrogen present by increasing ammonium and nitrate while decreasing dissolved organic nitrogen. The study suggests that microplastics reshape soil microbial communities and their nitrogen-processing activities, potentially disrupting the natural nutrient balance in agricultural soils.
Polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics promote soil nitrification and alter the composition of key nitrogen functional bacterial groups
Researchers found that polyethylene and PVC microplastics in soil increased nitrification (a key step in the nitrogen cycle) and changed the composition of nitrogen-processing bacteria. These changes could affect soil fertility and the availability of nutrients for crops. The study highlights how microplastic contamination in agricultural soil may have hidden effects on food production by altering fundamental soil processes.
Microplastic pollution on the soil and its consequences on the nitrogen cycle: a review
This review examines microplastic pollution impacts on soil nitrogen cycling, finding that microplastics alter soil structure, serve as novel microbial colonization surfaces, and affect the microbial communities responsible for nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification.
Effects of microplastic contamination on soil nitrogen and its bioavailability in soybean-maize rotation system
Researchers conducting a field experiment found that microplastics in agricultural soil disrupt the nitrogen cycle in a soybean-maize rotation system, inhibiting the natural nitrogen fixation that legumes provide and increasing the conversion of ammonium to nitrate — a form more prone to leaching away — raising concerns for long-term soil fertility.
Effects of micro(nano)plastics on soil nutrient cycling: State of the knowledge.
This review systematically examined how micro- and nano-plastics affect soil nutrient cycling for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, finding that physical interference with soil structure, alteration of microbial communities, and chemical toxicity collectively disrupt mineralization, nitrification, and phosphorus availability in contaminated soils.
Microplastic effects on soil nitrogen storage, nitrogen emissions, and ammonia volatilization in relation to soil health and crop productivity: mechanism and future consideration
This review examines how microplastics made from polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polypropylene affect nitrogen cycling and ammonia release in agricultural soils. Researchers found that these plastic particles can alter soil structure, shift microbial community composition, and disrupt the processes that store and release nitrogen. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in farmland may have cascading effects on soil fertility and crop productivity.
Microplastics affect organic nitrogen in sediment: The response of organic nitrogen mineralization to microbes and benthic animals
Researchers investigated how different types of microplastics affect organic nitrogen cycling in sediments, measuring the responses of key nitrogen-transforming microorganisms. They found microplastics alter the composition of organic nitrogen and suppress certain nitrogen cycling processes.
Coexistence of microplastics and Cd alters soil N transformation by affecting enzyme activity and ammonia oxidizer abundance
Researchers studied how the combined presence of microplastics and cadmium in soil affects nitrogen cycling, a process essential for soil fertility. They found that the pollutant mixture altered enzyme activity and shifted the balance of ammonia-oxidizing microbial communities more than either contaminant alone. The findings suggest that co-contamination of soils with microplastics and heavy metals could disrupt nutrient cycles critical for plant growth.
Global hierarchical meta-analysis of microplastic-induced changes in the soil nitrogen cycle
This global meta-analysis found that microplastics significantly disrupt soil nitrogen cycling, with high concentrations (>1%) and smaller particle sizes causing the most severe effects on nitrogen transformation processes. These disruptions to soil fertility and microbial communities could ultimately reduce crop productivity and threaten food security.
Key factors and mechanisms of microplastics’ effects on soil nitrogen transformation: A review
This review systematically analyzed how microplastics affect nitrogen transformation processes in soil. Researchers found that the size, shape, concentration, and polymer type of microplastics all influence soil nitrogen cycling through changes to microbial communities, soil structure, and enzyme activity. The study identifies key knowledge gaps and recommends standardized research approaches to better predict how microplastic pollution will alter soil nutrient dynamics.
Differential impacts of polyethylene microplastic and additives on soil nitrogen cycling: A deeper dive into microbial interactions and transformation mechanisms
This study tested how polyethylene microplastics, their base resin, and plastic additives each affect nitrogen cycling in soil -- a process essential for plant growth. All three altered the soil's nitrogen balance and microbial communities in different ways, with microplastics increasing certain nitrogen transformation rates the most. These findings matter because disrupted nitrogen cycling in farmland could affect crop nutrition and ultimately the quality of food humans eat.
Effects of microplastics on soil C and N cycling with or without interactions with soil amendments or soil fauna
A meta-analysis of soil experiments found that microplastics significantly disrupt carbon and nitrogen cycling — the fundamental processes that keep soils fertile and regulate greenhouse gas emissions — especially when microplastics interact with fertilizers, heavy metals, or soil animals like earthworms. The type of plastic and the presence of other stressors compounded the effects, with some combinations causing substantially greater disruption than either factor alone. This matters because agricultural soils are heavily contaminated with microplastics from mulch films and other sources, threatening both food production and climate regulation.
Quantifying the Effect of Dietary Microplastics on the Potential for Biological Uptake of Environmental Contaminants and Polymer Additives
This study quantified the effect of dietary microplastics on the potential for biological nitrogen fixation in soil systems, finding that MP ingestion by soil organisms disrupted gut microbiome function and reduced rates of nitrogen fixation relevant to soil fertility.
Microplastics induced the differential responses of microbial-driven soil carbon and nitrogen cycles under warming
Researchers examined how the combination of microplastic pollution and warming temperatures affects soil carbon and nitrogen cycling driven by microbial communities. The study found that microplastics altered microbial responses to warming in ways that disrupted both carbon decomposition and nitrogen transformation processes in soil.
Microplastic Pollution in Andisol: Effects on Soil Microbiology, Nitrogen Cycling, and Raphanus sativus L. Growth
Researchers assessed how polyamide, LDPE, and polypropylene microplastics affect Andisol soil properties and radish growth, finding microplastics reduced soil nitrogen cycling, disrupted microbial communities, and induced oxidative stress in plants — with effects varying by polymer type.
[Advances in the Effects of Microplastics on Soil N2O Emissions and Nitrogen Transformation].
This review synthesizes current research on how microplastics affect soil nitrogen cycling, including N2O emissions, nitrogen transformation processes, functional enzyme activity, and nitrogen-related genes, highlighting inconsistent findings due to variability in microplastic properties, experimental conditions, and spatial-temporal scales.
Effects of microplastics on soil microorganisms and microbial functions in nutrients and carbon cycling – A review
This review examines how microplastics in soil alter the communities of bacteria and fungi that are essential for recycling nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. Microplastics can increase certain beneficial bacteria but decrease others that are important for soil fertility, and they also carry toxic chemicals that further disrupt microbial life. The authors note that most studies are short-term lab experiments, and long-term field studies are needed to understand real-world impacts.
Effects of microplastics and nitrogen deposition on soil multifunctionality, particularly C and N cycling
Researchers conducted a 10-month soil incubation experiment to examine how polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics interact with nitrogen deposition to affect soil function. The study found that microplastics modified both carbon and nitrogen cycling processes, with polyethylene enriching bacteria involved in nitrate processing and polylactic acid enhancing nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Evidence indicates that the combined effects of microplastics and nitrogen deposition on soil ecosystem functions are more complex than either stressor alone.
Soil denitrification stimulated by macroplastics in maize cultivation
Researchers investigated how macroplastics (plastic debris >2 cm) affect soil nitrogen cycling in maize cultivation through a controlled experiment. Macroplastics stimulated soil denitrification, potentially increasing nitrous oxide emissions and reducing nitrogen availability for crops.
Role of polyamide microplastic in altering microbial consortium and carbon and nitrogen cycles in a simulated agricultural soil microcosm
Researchers added polyamide microplastics to simulated agricultural soil and tracked their effects on microbial communities and nutrient cycling over time. They found that microplastics altered the composition of soil bacteria and disrupted both carbon and nitrogen cycling processes. The study highlights how microplastic contamination in farmland can affect the invisible but essential microbial processes that maintain soil health and fertility.
Microplastic induces microbial nitrogen limitation further alters microbial nitrogentransformation: Insights from metagenomic analysis
Researchers studied how both conventional and biodegradable microplastics affect nitrogen cycling in soil over 120 days. They found that biodegradable microplastics significantly disrupted microbial nitrogen processes by acting as a carbon source that shifted bacterial communities toward nitrogen-fixing species. The findings suggest that even biodegradable plastics in soil can alter nutrient availability in ways that may affect soil fertility and plant growth.
Microplastics enhance nitrogen loss from a black paddy soil by shifting nitrate reduction from DNRA to denitrification and Anammox
Using nitrogen-15 tracer and molecular techniques, researchers found that polystyrene, PVC, and polyethylene microplastics shifted nitrate reduction pathways in black paddy soil from dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) toward denitrification, enhancing nitrogen gas loss and reducing soil nitrogen retention.
Plastic film mulching and microplastics impact soil nitrogen processes
This review examines how plastic film mulching practices introduce microplastic contamination into farmland soils and how accumulated microplastics alter soil nitrogen cycling processes — including nitrification, denitrification, and nitrogen fixation — with implications for crop growth and long-term agricultural sustainability.