Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Microplastic effects on carbon cycling processes in soils

Researchers reviewed how microplastics affect carbon cycling processes in soils, including their influence on microbial activity, plant growth, and litter decomposition. Since microplastics are themselves carbon-based materials, they can directly alter soil carbon stocks while also indirectly shifting microbial communities. The study calls for a major research effort to understand the widespread effects of microplastics on soil functioning and terrestrial ecosystem health.

2021 PLoS Biology 503 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Natural Hazards Research 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological Effects of Soil Microplastic Pollution

This review summarizes how microplastics contaminate soils, what effects they have on soil animals and microbes, and how they disrupt carbon and nitrogen cycling. As soils are the base of terrestrial food webs, microplastic-induced changes in soil ecosystems have cascading effects on food safety and human health.

2019 Science Insights 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil carbon cycling mediated by microplastics: Formation, mineralization, and sequestration

This review examines how microplastic pollution affects soil organic carbon cycling, covering direct participation in carbon processes and indirect effects on soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities. The authors synthesize mechanisms by which microplastics influence organic carbon formation, mineralization, and sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.

2024 Scientia Sinica Technologica 1 citations
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
Article Tier 2

Ecological effect of microplastics on soil microbe-driven carbon circulation and greenhouse gas emission: A review

This review examines how microplastics in soil affect carbon cycling by altering microbial activity, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Researchers found that microplastics can change soil structure, nutrient availability, and microbial community composition in ways that affect how carbon is stored or released from soil. The study suggests that widespread microplastic contamination in agricultural and natural soils could have far-reaching consequences for the global carbon balance.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 20 citations
Article Tier 2

How microplastics are destroying soil and human health

This review examined how microplastics harm soil health — disrupting soil structure, water retention, microbial communities, and nutrient cycling — and how soil degradation translates into risks for human health through food and water contamination. It argues that soil microplastic pollution deserves equivalent attention to aquatic contamination.

2024
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastic effects on carbon cycling in terrestrial soil ecosystems: Storage, formation, mineralization, and microbial mechanisms

Microplastics in soil contribute to organic carbon storage through degradation and leaching, but also disrupt carbon cycling by altering plant growth, litter decomposition, and microbial activity. The net effect on soil CO2 and CH4 emissions varies depending on how microplastics reshape microbial community structure and enzyme activity.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects and mechanism of microplastics on organic carbon and nitrogen cycling in agricultural soil: A review

This review summarizes how microplastic pollution in agricultural soils affects carbon and nitrogen cycling by altering soil properties, microbial communities, and enzymatic activity. Evidence indicates that microplastics can change organic matter degradation rates and nutrient cycling processes, with implications for soil health and agricultural productivity.

2023 Soil Use and Management 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Specific response of soil properties to microplastics pollution: A review

This review summarizes how microplastic pollution changes the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. Microplastics can alter soil structure, water retention, and nutrient cycling, and they also affect the communities of microorganisms that keep soil healthy. Since contaminated soil grows our food, these changes could indirectly affect human health through the food supply.

2023 Environmental Research 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of microplastics on terrestrial plants: A critical review

This review examines how microplastics affect land-based plants, finding that they can alter soil structure, disrupt beneficial soil microbes, and reduce plant growth. Microplastics also carry toxic chemicals like plasticizers and heavy metals that can be taken up by plant roots and enter the food chain. The findings raise concerns about human health since contaminated crops could be a hidden source of microplastic and chemical exposure in our diets.

2024 Land Degradation and Development 23 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
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastics alter soil carbon cycling: Effects on carbon storage, CO 2 and CH 4 emission and microbial community

This systematic review examines how microplastics in soil affect carbon cycling, including greenhouse gas emissions and carbon storage. The effects depend heavily on plastic type and size, with biodegradable plastics generally having a bigger impact. Understanding these soil-level changes matters because disrupted carbon cycles can worsen climate change, which in turn affects the food and water systems we all depend on.

2024 Cambridge Prisms Plastics 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on Soil's Biodiversity and Public Health

This book chapter reviews the impacts of microplastic pollution on soil biodiversity and public health, examining how plastic particles disrupt soil microbial communities, affect soil-dwelling invertebrates, and enter the human food chain through contaminated crops.

2025
Article Tier 2

Can microplastics mediate soil properties, plant growth and carbon/nitrogen turnover in the terrestrial ecosystem?

This review assessed evidence for microplastic effects on soil properties, plant growth, and carbon and nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastics were found to alter soil structure, water retention, microbial activity, and nutrient cycling, with cascading effects on plant growth and soil organic matter turnover.

2022 Ecosystem Health and Sustainability 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Impact of Micro-plastics on Soil Health and Ecosystem Dynamics: A Comprehensive Review

This review examines how microplastics affect soil health, finding that they alter soil structure, water retention, and the organisms that live in soil. Microplastics can carry toxic substances into soil and interact with other pollutants to amplify harmful effects on earthworms and soil microbes. Since healthy soil is essential for growing safe food, microplastic contamination of agricultural land could have long-term consequences for the food supply and human health.

2024 Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of Microplastics with Microbial Communities and the Food Web/Plants

This review examines how microplastics interact with soil and water microorganisms and move through food webs and plant systems. Microplastics can disrupt microbial communities that are essential for soil health and nutrient cycling, while also being absorbed by plants and passed along to animals that eat them. These disruptions in natural systems matter for human health because they can affect food safety and the productivity of agricultural ecosystems.

2025 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on Soil's Biodiversity and Public Health

This book chapter examines how microplastic contamination of soil affects biodiversity—including soil microbes, invertebrates, and plants—and discusses the broader public health implications of agricultural soil pollution and potential pathways of human exposure through food.

2025
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on soil properties: Current knowledge and future perspectives

This review examines how microplastics affect soil health, including changes to soil structure, chemistry, and the microbial communities that keep soil fertile. The effects vary depending on the type, shape, and amount of plastic present, but in many cases microplastics alter nutrient availability and can even influence greenhouse gas emissions from soil. These changes could threaten crop productivity and food safety, since microplastics are now found in agricultural soils worldwide.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 837 citations
Article Tier 2

The impacts of microplastics on the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in terrestrial soil ecosystems: Progress and prospects

This review examines how microplastics in soil affect the cycling of carbon and nitrogen, two elements essential for plant growth and soil health. Microplastics alter soil microbial communities and enzyme activity in ways that change greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient availability, which could ultimately affect crop production and the food supply.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 67 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as Emerging Soil Pollutants

This review covers how microplastics enter and accumulate in soils, their effects on soil health, microbial communities, soil fauna, and plant growth, and the implications of widespread soil plastic contamination for ecosystem function.

2024
Article Tier 2

The rise of artificial soil carbon inputs: Reviewing microplastic pollution effects in the soil environment

This review examines how microplastic pollution affects soil health, finding that agricultural practices like plastic mulch use and waste application are the primary sources of soil microplastic contamination. Researchers found that microplastics generally increase erosion risk, weaken soil structure, and alter water retention, though effects vary depending on soil type and plastic characteristics. The impact on plant health and soil microbial communities was highly variable, with some studies even finding positive effects, highlighting the complexity of microplastic-soil interactions.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 185 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics as an Emerging Environmental Pollutant in Agricultural Soils: Effects on Ecosystems and Human Health

This review examines how microplastics enter and move through agricultural soil ecosystems, affecting soil properties, nutrient cycling, and the organisms that live in and depend on healthy soil. Researchers found that microplastics can alter key biogeochemical processes and interact with co-existing pollutants like heavy metals and pesticides, potentially compounding their harmful effects. The study highlights the need for prevention and control strategies as microplastic contamination of farmland becomes an increasingly recognized environmental and potential human health concern.

2022 Frontiers in Environmental Science 151 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review on Microplastic in the Soils and Their Impact on Soil Microbes, Crops and Humans

This review examines microplastic contamination in agricultural soils, detailing how microplastic particles act as vectors for toxic organic pollutants and heavy metals, disrupting soil physicochemical properties, microbial communities, crop growth, and ultimately entering the human food chain.

2022 International Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH 7 citations