Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Selenium alleviates the adverse effects of microplastics on kale by regulating photosynthesis, redox homeostasis, secondary metabolism and hormones

Researchers found that treating soil with selenium could protect kale plants from the harmful effects of microplastic contamination. Microplastics triggered damaging oxidative stress in the plants, but selenium helped restore the balance by boosting antioxidant defenses, improving photosynthesis, and regulating plant hormones. This suggests selenium supplementation could help maintain food crop health in microplastic-contaminated agricultural soils.

2024 Food Chemistry 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Concentration-Dependent Impacts of Microplastics on Soil Nematode Community in Bulk Soils of Maize: Evidence From a Pot Experiment

Researchers found that polypropylene microplastics altered soil nematode community composition in a concentration-dependent manner, reducing bacterivore abundance and shifting the soil food web structure, indicating disrupted soil ecological functioning in agricultural settings.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Science 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in soil can increase nutrient uptake by wheat

Researchers found that microplastics in soil can increase nutrient uptake by wheat by stimulating microbial activity and altering root interactions, suggesting microplastics may disrupt natural nutrient-cycling strategies in agricultural systems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Revealing the Selenium-Mediated Regulatory Mechanisms of P. stratiotes in Response to Nanoplastics Stress from Multiple Perspectives of Transcriptomics, Metabolomics, and Plant Physiology

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles (nanoplastics) seriously damage water plants by disrupting their ability to make food from sunlight and causing harmful stress inside their cells. However, when researchers added selenium (a natural mineral) to the water, it helped protect the plants from plastic damage by boosting their natural defense systems. This research could help us clean up plastic pollution in lakes and rivers, which is important since these water sources can affect human health through drinking water and food chains.

2026 Toxics
Article Tier 2

Mitigating the detrimental impacts of low- and high-density polyethylene microplastics using a novel microbial consortium on a soil-plant system: Insights and interactions

Researchers tested a novel microbial consortium containing bacterial and fungal strains to mitigate the harmful effects of polyethylene microplastics on soil and sunflower growth. The study found that microplastics altered soil pH, electrical conductivity, and organic carbon levels, but the microbial consortium treatment helped counteract some of these detrimental effects on the soil-plant system.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Silicon regulates microplastic-induced phytotoxicity and its detoxification mechanism: A plant-microbe perspective

Researchers investigated whether silicon supplements could protect kale from the harmful effects of polyethylene microplastics in soil. They found that silicon increased plant biomass by 16-25% and reversed microplastic-induced suppression of soil enzymes, while also promoting beneficial soil bacteria. The study suggests that silicon could be a practical strategy for improving crop resilience in microplastic-contaminated agricultural soils.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Uncovering the intricate relationship between plant nutrients and microplastics in agroecosystems

A study of wheat grown in soils with varying microplastic levels found complex interactions between MPs and plant macronutrients and micronutrients, with MPs altering nutrient uptake in ways that could affect crop productivity in contaminated agricultural soils.

2023 Chemosphere 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic particles alter wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function

Researchers found that microplastic particles altered wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function, with different polymer types inducing distinct shifts in bacterial diversity and nutrient cycling processes.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of inorganic and organic selenium intervention on resistance of radish to arsenic stress

Researchers studied how organic and inorganic selenium supplements affect arsenic uptake in radish plants under arsenic stress conditions. They found that organic selenium was more effective than inorganic selenium at reducing arsenic absorption and improving the plants' antioxidant defenses. While not directly about microplastics, the study contributes to understanding how soil amendments can help crops resist environmental contaminant stress.

2022 Italian Journal of Food Science 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Dual-Stress Mitigation of Sclerotinia under Microplastic Toxicity by Nano-Selenium: Redox Balance, Pathogen Suppression, and Transcriptome Reprogramming

Researchers investigated whether selenium nanoparticles could protect rapeseed plants from combined stress caused by microplastics and the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia. The study found that selenium nanoparticles improved photosynthesis, reduced oxidative damage, and showed strong antifungal activity, suggesting they may help mitigate microplastic-induced phytotoxicity and fungal disease in agricultural settings.

2025 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Ultrastructural and Proteomic Analyses Revealed the Mechanism by Which Foliar Spraying of Se Nanoparticles Alleviated the Toxicity of Microplastics in Pistia stratiotes L.

Foliar application of selenium nanoparticles to the aquatic plant Pistia stratiotes alleviated toxicity from polyethylene nanoplastics, with ultrastructural and proteomic analyses revealing that selenium nanoparticles protected photosynthetic machinery and antioxidant systems.

2025 Toxics
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Reduce the Negative Effects of Litter-Derived Plant Secondary Metabolites on Nematodes in Soil

Researchers found that microplastics in soil reduced the toxic effects of plant-derived chemicals (phenolic compounds from leaf litter) on soil nematodes. The microplastics appeared to absorb the plant chemicals, reducing their bioavailability to the worms. This shows that microplastics can change soil chemistry in unexpected ways, potentially altering how soil ecosystems function.

2021 Frontiers in Environmental Science 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Plant-driven strategies for mitigating microplastic pollution in agricultural ecosystems

Researchers review how microplastics damage agricultural soils and crops — disrupting soil structure, starving plants of nutrients, and triggering oxidative stress — and explore plant- and microbe-based strategies like root-associated bacteria and biochar amendments as promising but underexplored tools for cleaning up plastic-contaminated farmland.

2025 Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances
Article Tier 2

Effects of polystyrene microplastics on the agronomic traits and rhizosphere soil microbial community of highland barley

Researchers investigated how polystyrene microplastics of different sizes and concentrations affect highland barley growth and the microbial communities in surrounding soil. They found that smaller particles reduced grain weight while larger particles decreased spike dimensions, and all microplastic treatments significantly lowered soil bacterial diversity. The study also showed that adding degrading bacteria helped restore microbial community structure closer to normal conditions.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics and heavy metals on soil-plant microbial dynamics

This study examined how polyethylene microplastics interact with heavy metals in soil and found that microplastics significantly reduced plant growth while altering soil enzyme activity and microbial communities. The combination of microplastics and heavy metals disrupted nutrient cycling in the soil in ways that were different from either pollutant alone. These findings suggest that microplastic contamination in agricultural soil could affect crop nutrition and food production.

2023 Environmental Pollution 37 citations
Article Tier 2

A New Approachfor Remediating Polyethylene MicroplasticsPollution in Agricultural Soils: The Combined Effects of CompoundMicrobial Agent

Researchers developed a compound microbial agent capable of degrading polyethylene microplastics and tested it in honeydew melon and eggplant fields, finding it reduced soil microplastic levels while also improving plant growth and overall soil health.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Potential impacts of polyethylene microplastics and heavy metals on Bidens pilosa L. growth: Shifts in root-associated endophyte microbial communities

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics in soil contaminated with heavy metals significantly stunted plant growth, reducing root length by nearly 49% and increasing harmful reactive oxygen species in plant tissues. The microplastics also shifted the soil's microbial communities toward stress-resistant species, demonstrating how plastic pollution can disrupt the soil ecosystem that supports our food supply.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
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

Polyethylene microplastics alter soil microbial community assembly and ecosystem multifunctionality

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics at different concentrations affect soil microbial communities and overall ecosystem function in a maize growing system. They found that higher concentrations of microplastics shifted microbial community composition, reduced beneficial bacteria involved in nutrient cycling, and impaired multiple soil ecosystem functions simultaneously. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils can undermine the biological processes that support healthy crop growth.

2023 Environment International 114 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessment of microplastic pollution on soil health and crop responses: Insights from dose-dependent pot experiments

Researchers combined field investigation and pot experiments to assess how microplastic contamination at different doses affects soil health indicators and crop growth performance. Field soils showed measurable microplastic contamination, and pot experiments demonstrated dose-dependent effects on soil enzyme activity, water retention, and plant growth metrics.

2024