Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Diversity and interactions of rhizobacteria determine multinutrient traits in tomato host plants under nitrogen and water disturbances

Researchers investigated how root-associated bacteria help tomato plants maintain nutrient uptake under nitrogen and water stress conditions. They found that microbial diversity and species interactions were key factors in supporting the plant's ability to acquire multiple nutrients simultaneously. While not directly about microplastics, the study advances understanding of soil microbiome dynamics that are relevant to agricultural systems increasingly affected by plastic contamination.

2024 Horticulture Research 5 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 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.

2023 Journal of environmental management
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics on the soil-plant system: A perspective on rhizosphere microbial community and soil element cycling

This study provides supporting dataset for a review examining how microplastics affect soil-plant systems, with a focus on rhizosphere microbial community composition and element cycling processes in contaminated soils.

2024 Figshare
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

Microbes drive metabolism, community diversity, and interactions in response to microplastic-induced nutrient imbalance

Researchers investigated how conventional and biodegradable microplastics alter soil nutrient balances and the resulting effects on microbial metabolism, community diversity, and species interactions. The study found that microplastic-induced nutrient imbalances significantly influenced soil microbial processes, with different types of microplastics producing distinct effects on carbon and nitrogen cycling.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 74 citations
Article Tier 2

Rhizosphere microbial activities in response to combined effects of drought and microplastic

Researchers studied how combined drought stress and microplastic contamination affect rhizosphere microbial activities, finding that microplastics exacerbated drought-induced suppression of soil enzyme activities and altered microbial community structure around plant roots.

2024
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 131 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 174 citations
Article Tier 2

Mycorrhizal-specific responses of rhizosphere soil properties and fine-root traits to polystyrene microplastic addition in a temperate mixed forest

Researchers assessed how polystyrene microplastic additions affect rhizosphere soil properties and fine-root traits in a temperate mixed forest, finding increased available nitrogen but decreased available phosphorus, with contrasting responses between ectomycorrhizal and arbuscular mycorrhizal tree species.

2025
Article Tier 2

Comparison of Different Agronomic Activities on Physicochemical Properties and N-cycling Gene Abundances in Farmland Soil Near Copper Tailings Area

Despite its title referencing farmland soil and agronomic activities, this paper studies how different fertilisation practices affect nitrogen-cycling bacteria in soils contaminated with copper mine waste — not microplastic pollution. It examines microbial gene abundances related to nitrogen fixation and denitrification, and is not relevant to microplastics or human health.

2025 Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Mycorrhizal-specific responses of rhizosphere soil properties and fine-root traits to polystyrene microplastic addition in a temperate mixed forest

Researchers added polystyrene microplastics to a temperate forest and found they disrupted nutrient cycling differently depending on tree type — increasing nitrogen but decreasing phosphorus near oak-type trees, and doing the opposite near maple-type trees — suggesting microplastic pollution could reshape forest ecosystems over time.

2026 Communications Earth & Environment
Article Tier 2

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.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 102 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations
Article Tier 2

Cascading effects from soil to maize functional traits explain maize response to microplastics disturbance in multi-nutrient soil environment

Researchers found that microplastics in agricultural soil can dry out the soil and disrupt nutrient availability for maize plants, but the crop partially compensates by growing longer, more efficient roots to forage for nutrients. This adaptive response — more pronounced in nutrient-rich soils — means microplastic impacts on crop yields depend heavily on soil conditions, complicating efforts to predict food security risks from plastic pollution.

2023 Geoderma 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics increase soil microbial network complexity and trigger diversity-driven community assembly

Researchers found that microplastics in soil increased bacterial network complexity and shifted microbial community assembly in a diversity-dependent manner, with high-density polyethylene causing more harm to plant growth than polystyrene or polylactic acid particles.

2023 Environmental Pollution 49 citations