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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Microplastics and cadmium affect invasion success by altering complementarity and selection effects in native community
ClearHigh invader density alone drives invasive plant dominance, but its impacts on native community biomass and diversity depend on nutrients and microplastics
A mesocosm experiment using invasive aquatic plants found that high invader density is the main driver of invasive species dominance in freshwater systems, but the impact on native plant diversity and productivity depends on whether the water is also enriched with nutrients or contaminated with microplastics. This study highlights that microplastic pollution can interact with other stressors like nutrient runoff to shape how biological invasions unfold in freshwater ecosystems, with cascading consequences for native plant communities.
The more microplastic types pollute the soil, the stronger the growth suppression of invasive alien and native plants
Researchers grew 16 plant species in soil contaminated with varying numbers of microplastic types and found that plant growth declined more as the diversity of microplastics increased. Invasive species were particularly affected, losing their typical growth advantage over native plants when exposed to multiple microplastic types. The study suggests that real-world soil contamination, which typically involves a mix of different plastics, may suppress plant growth more than single-plastic experiments have shown.
Effect of microplastics on the allelopathic effects of native and invasive plants on co-occurring invaders
Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics in soil enhanced the growth of both native and invasive plant species under competitive and non-competitive conditions. The microplastics also induced negative allelopathic effects from the native plant Achyranthes on neighboring plants, mediated through changes in leaf chemistry. The study suggests that microplastic pollution could alter competitive dynamics between native and invasive species by modifying plant chemical interactions.
Plant community responses to polypropylene microplastic and cadmium co-exposure: Implications for mycorrhizal strategies in a coastal wetland
Researchers conducted a mesocosm experiment to assess how polypropylene microplastics and cadmium interact in their effects on coastal wetland plant communities. They found that the combination of microplastics and heavy metals altered soil properties, plant community composition, and root traits in species-specific ways. The study suggests that mycorrhizal strategies play a role in how different plant species respond to this combined contamination.
Microplastics could alter invasive plant community performance and the dominance of Amaranthus palmeri
This study examined how microplastics interact with invasive and native plant species in mixed plant communities, finding that microplastics altered competitive dynamics and affected the dominance of the invasive species Amaranthus palmeri. The results suggest that microplastic pollution could modulate the outcomes of plant invasions.
Combined Inhibitory Effect of Canada Goldenrod Invasion and Soil Microplastics on Rice Growth
Researchers found that the combination of invasive Canada goldenrod plants and soil microplastics reduced rice biomass and disrupted antioxidant enzyme activity more severely than either stressor alone, suggesting that microplastic pollution can amplify the agricultural harm caused by invasive plant species.
Microplastic and drought influence the positive effect of plant diversity on plant biomass production
Researchers found that microplastic pollution and drought stress each reduced the positive effect of plant diversity on biomass production, with their combined presence further weakening this relationship in a glasshouse experiment across plant communities of varying diversity.
[Effects of Combined Pollution of Microplastics and Cadmium on Microbial Community Structure and Function of Pennisetum hydridum Rhizosphere Soil].
Researchers investigated the combined effects of microplastics (polyethylene and polystyrene at different particle sizes and concentrations) and cadmium on the growth of Pennisetum hydridum and the microbial community structure and function of rhizosphere soil under pot conditions. The results showed that the type, size, and concentration of microplastics interacted with cadmium to differentially affect plant dry weight, cadmium accumulation, and soil microbial diversity indices.
Nitrogen deposition modulates invasibility and stability of plant communities in microplastic-contaminated wetlands
A greenhouse experiment found that polyethylene microplastics combined with nitrogen deposition reduced morphological traits of invaded wetland plant communities, altering competitive dynamics between invasive and native plants.
Microplastics amplify the invasive potential of Flavidium bidentis in invaded communities
Researchers examined how microplastics affect the competitive interactions and invasive potential of Flavidium bidentis in native plant communities, measuring growth traits and interspecific relationships across microplastic exposure treatments. Results indicated that microplastics amplified the invasive advantage of F. bidentis over native species, raising concern that widespread soil microplastic contamination may accelerate plant invasions.
Microplastic fragments in sand alleviate the negative effects of heavy metals on plants
A mesocosm experiment found that microplastic fragments in substrate unexpectedly reduced cadmium uptake by plants despite increasing the metal's bioavailability in the soil — suggesting microplastics alter the chemistry of how plants access heavy metals through mechanisms not related to pH or soil moisture. The non-hyperaccumulator Arabidopsis thaliana showed increased biomass when exposed to both cadmium and microplastics together compared to either stressor alone. These counterintuitive interactions highlight how microplastics can complicate predicting heavy metal toxicity in contaminated soils.
High invader density alone drives invasive plant dominance, but its impacts on native community biomass and diversity depend on nutrients and microplastics
Scientists found that when invasive water plants are planted more densely, they grow much larger and take over freshwater ecosystems more successfully. However, how these invasions affect native plants depends on whether the water is polluted with excess nutrients (like fertilizer runoff) and microplastics—tiny plastic particles that are increasingly common in our waterways. This matters because healthy freshwater plant communities help keep our water clean and support fish and wildlife that many people depend on for food and recreation.
Antagonistic Interaction Between Microplastics and Herbivory on the Growth of Native and Invasive Plants
This study tested the individual and combined effects of polyethylene microplastics and herbivory on native and invasive plants, finding an antagonistic interaction where herbivore damage and MP stress partially offset each other's growth effects, with implications for invasive plant management.
Microplastics promote the invasiveness of invasive alien species under fluctuating water regime
Researchers found that microplastic pollution in soil can enhance the invasiveness of alien plant species, particularly under fluctuating water conditions that simulate extreme rainfall events. The microplastics altered soil properties in ways that gave invasive plants a competitive advantage over native species. The study highlights a previously overlooked interaction between two major environmental threats: microplastic contamination and biological invasions.
Combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on the soil-plant system: Phytotoxicity, Cd accumulation and microbial activity
Researchers tested how different microplastic types combined with cadmium affect plant growth and soil health. Aged and biodegradable microplastics increased cadmium uptake in mustard greens more than fresh conventional plastics did. The study also found that microplastics altered soil microbial activity, suggesting that plastic pollution in farmland could change how plants absorb toxic metals from contaminated soil.
Interactive effects of microplastics and cadmium on soil properties, microbial communities and bok choy growth
Researchers grew bok choy in soil amended with polyethylene microplastics (0.5-2% by weight) and cadmium to assess interactive effects on soil properties, microbial communities, and plant growth. Combined exposure produced distinct synergistic and antagonistic interactions compared to either pollutant alone, altering soil enzyme activity, bacterial diversity, and plant metal uptake.
Microplastic and drought influence the positive effect of plant diversity on plant biomass production
Researchers conducted a glasshouse experiment examining how microplastic pollution interacts with drought to affect plant biomass production across a gradient of plant diversity, finding that microplastics influenced the positive biodiversity-productivity relationship. The study reveals that microplastic pollution is a novel stressor that interacts with drought to affect terrestrial ecosystem functionality in ways not predictable from single-factor experiments.
Increasing soil microplastic diversity decreases community biomass via its impact on the most dominant species
Researchers experimentally mixed different numbers and types of microplastics into soil hosting six plant species, finding that greater variety of microplastic types in the soil reduced total plant biomass — mainly by suppressing the growth of the dominant grass species. The results suggest that real-world environments contaminated with multiple types of microplastics may suffer greater ecological harm than studies using a single plastic type would predict.
Influence of cadmium and microplastics on physiological responses, ultrastructure and rhizosphere microbial community of duckweed
Researchers studied the combined effects of cadmium and polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics on duckweed, an aquatic plant. Interestingly, the study found that microplastics combined with cadmium actually reduced the heavy metal's toxicity to the plant compared to cadmium exposure alone, while also increasing the diversity of beneficial microbes in the root zone.
Microplastic and drought influence the positive effect of plant diversity on plant biomass production
Researchers conducted a glasshouse experiment assembling grassland plant communities across diversity gradients and exposing them to microplastic and drought treatments, finding that drought significantly weakened the positive diversity-biomass relationship through negative complementarity effects, while microplastics tended to reduce this relationship by suppressing grass and legume shoot biomass, though microplastics partially alleviated drought-induced biomass losses in legumes.
Microplastic and drought influence the positive effect of plant diversity on plant biomass production
Researchers conducted a glasshouse experiment assembling grassland plant communities across diversity gradients and exposing them to microplastic and drought treatments, finding that drought significantly weakened the positive diversity-biomass relationship through negative complementarity effects, while microplastics tended to reduce this relationship by suppressing grass and legume shoot biomass, though microplastics partially alleviated drought-induced biomass losses in legumes.
Microplastic and drought influence the positive effect of plant diversity on plant biomass production
Researchers conducted a glasshouse experiment assembling grassland plant communities across diversity gradients and exposing them to microplastic and drought treatments, finding that drought significantly weakened the positive diversity-biomass relationship through negative complementarity effects, while microplastics tended to reduce this relationship by suppressing grass and legume shoot biomass, though microplastics partially alleviated drought-induced biomass losses in legumes.
Effects of combined microplastic and cadmium pollution on sorghum growth, Cd accumulation, and rhizosphere microbial functions
Researchers examined how different types and sizes of microplastics interact with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, to affect sorghum growth and soil microbes. They found that the combined pollution generally increased plant stress and cadmium uptake, with effects varying by plastic type, particle size, and concentration. The study also revealed that the pollution mixture significantly altered soil bacterial communities and key metabolic pathways involved in nutrient cycling.
Individual and Combined Effects of Nanoplastics and Cadmium on the Rhizosphere Bacterial Community of Sedum alfredii Hance
When polystyrene nanoplastics and cadmium co-occur in soil, they act synergistically to disrupt the bacterial community around plant roots (rhizosphere), reducing the diversity of beneficial bacteria by more than what either pollutant does alone. High concentrations of nanoplastics combined with cadmium significantly increased the availability of cadmium in soil by 4%, potentially increasing uptake by plants. This matters for both food safety — since Sedum alfredii is used in phytoremediation of heavy-metal-contaminated sites — and for understanding how combined pollution stresses affect soil health.