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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Biodegradable microplastics reduce the effectiveness of biofertilizers by altering rhizospheric microecological functions
ClearBiodegradable PBAT microplastics adversely affect pakchoi (Brassica chinensis L.) growth and the rhizosphere ecology: Focusing on rhizosphere microbial community composition, element metabolic potential, and root exudates
Researchers compared biodegradable PBAT plastic microplastics with conventional polyethylene microplastics in soil and found that the biodegradable version actually caused more harm to plant growth and soil health. PBAT microplastics reduced nutrient availability, disrupted the soil microbial community, and altered root chemistry more than conventional plastic. This finding challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always safer for the environment.
Response of soybean and maize roots and soil enzyme activities to biodegradable microplastics contaminated soil
Researchers tested how biodegradable microplastics from PBAT plastic film affect soybean and maize root growth and soil health. They found that higher concentrations of these microplastics in soil reduced root length, surface area, and biomass in soybean by up to 34%, while also altering key soil enzyme activities. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastic residues in agricultural soil may disrupt plant growth and nutrient cycling.
The Structural and Functional Responses of Rhizosphere Bacteria to Biodegradable Microplastics in the Presence of Biofertilizers
Researchers studied how biodegradable microplastics interact with biofertilizers in crop soils and found that even though biodegradable plastics are designed as greener alternatives, they still significantly altered soil bacterial communities and disrupted carbon metabolism pathways. The findings suggest that biodegradable microplastics may affect soil health differently than conventional plastics, but are not necessarily harmless.
Soil microorganisms play an important role in the detrimental impact of biodegradable microplastics on plants
Researchers found that biodegradable microplastics harmed vegetable crop growth by disrupting the soil microbial community rather than through direct contact with the plants. When soil microorganisms were suppressed, the negative effects of the biodegradable microplastics on plant growth were also reduced. The study suggests that soil bacteria and fungi play a key role in mediating the harmful impacts of biodegradable plastics on agricultural crops.
Negative effects of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) microplastics on Arabidopsis and its root-associated microbiome
Researchers found that the biodegradable plastic PBAT had greater inhibitory effects on Arabidopsis growth than conventional LDPE microplastics, disrupting photosynthesis and altering root-associated microbial communities in ways that suggest biodegradable plastics are not necessarily safer for soil ecosystems.
Multi-omics reveals different impact patterns of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on the crop rhizosphere in a biofertilizer environment
Researchers used advanced multi-omics techniques to compare how conventional polyethylene microplastics and biodegradable plastic microplastics affect the root zone of crops grown with biofertilizer. They found that both types disrupted the soil microbial community, but through different mechanisms, with biodegradable plastics unexpectedly causing more changes to the bacterial community structure. The study suggests that even biodegradable agricultural plastics may interfere with the effectiveness of biofertilizers in soil.
Negative effects of poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) microplastics on Arabidopsis and its root-associated microbiome
Researchers investigated the effects of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) biodegradable microplastics on Arabidopsis thaliana and its root-associated microbiome, finding that PBAT-MPs at tested concentrations in agricultural soil caused negative impacts on plant growth and altered the composition of root-zone microbial communities.
Poly (butylene adipate terephthalate) degradation products and their influence on plant progression and soil microbial diversity
This study examined how the biodegradable plastic PBAT degrades in soil and what effects its degradation products have on Chinese cabbage growth and soil microbial diversity, finding that degradation varied with particle size and that soil microbiomes shifted as PBAT broke down. The findings matter for assessing whether "biodegradable" mulch films truly disappear benignly or leave behind microplastic fragments and microbial disruption in agricultural soils.
Soil C-N and microbial community were altered by polybutylene adipate terephthalate microplastics
Researchers investigated how biodegradable polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT) microplastics affect soil carbon, nitrogen, and microbial communities in soils planted with soybean and maize. The study found that PBAT microplastics significantly altered dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen levels, increased microbial biomass, and shifted bacterial and fungal community composition, suggesting that even biodegradable microplastics may disrupt soil nutrient cycling in plant-specific ways.
Effect of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on the soil-soybean system: A perspective on rhizosphere microbial community and soil element cycling
This study compared how conventional polyethylene microplastics and biodegradable alternatives (PBAT and PLA) affect soil bacteria and nutrient cycling in soybean fields. The biodegradable microplastics actually caused more harm to soybean growth than conventional ones, reducing shoot biomass by up to 34% and disrupting nitrogen availability in soil. This challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always better for the environment and raises questions about their impact on agricultural productivity and food security.
Impacts of biodegradable microplastics on rhizosphere bacterial communities of Arabidopsis thaliana: Insights into root hair-dependent colonization
Researchers investigated how biodegradable microplastics from PBAT plastic affect the bacterial communities around plant roots, using two genotypes of Arabidopsis with different root hair lengths. They found that longer root hairs promoted greater bacterial colonization and diversity, and that biodegradable microplastics boosted enzyme activity and shifted bacterial community composition in the root zone. The findings suggest that the effects of biodegradable microplastics on soil health depend on plant root characteristics.
Soil biota modulate the effects of microplastics on biomass and diversity of plant communities
Researchers used mesocosm experiments with natural soil biota to compare the effects of biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastics on plant community biomass and diversity. Soil biota modulated the impact of microplastics, with biodegradable plastics showing similar effects to conventional plastics on plant community structure, challenging the assumption that biodegradable alternatives are environmentally benign.
Effects of polyethylene microplastics on the microbial community structure of maize rhizosphere soil
Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics from agricultural films affect the microbial communities in crop root zones (rhizosphere), finding shifts in bacterial diversity and function. Disrupting soil microbiomes through microplastic contamination could have downstream effects on soil fertility and crop health.
Biodegradable microplastics affect tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth by interfering rhizosphere key phylotypes
Scientists found that biodegradable microplastics, often promoted as eco-friendly alternatives, can negatively affect tomato plant growth by disrupting beneficial soil bacteria around the roots. This suggests that even plastics designed to break down in the environment may still pose risks to agriculture and food production as they degrade into microplastic fragments.
Effects of different types of microplastics in soil on nitrogen absorption and metabolism of quinoa
Researchers grew quinoa in soils spiked with biodegradable (PLA, PBAT) and conventional (PE) microplastics at three concentrations, finding that all types reduced nitrogen-metabolizing enzyme activity and soil organic carbon decomposition, with biodegradable PBAT causing the greatest suppression of nitrogen absorption and moderate concentrations inducing the most severe oxidative stress.
Bioplastic (PHBV) addition to soil alters microbial community structure and negatively affects plant-microbial metabolic functioning in maize
Researchers tested the effects of adding a biodegradable bioplastic to soil on maize growth and soil microbial communities. They found that the bioplastic altered soil microbial community structure and negatively affected the metabolic interactions between plants and soil microbes, even at relatively low concentrations. The study raises concerns that biodegradable plastic alternatives may not be as benign to soil ecosystems as commonly assumed.
Biodegradable Microplastic-Driven Change in Soil pH Affects Soybean Rhizosphere Microbial N Transformation Processes
Researchers found that biodegradable microplastics made from polybutylene succinate (PBS) caused more harm to soil health than conventional polyethylene microplastics in soybean-growing systems. The biodegradable plastic acidified the soil, disrupted microbial communities responsible for nitrogen cycling, and impaired plant nutrient uptake. This challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always safer for agricultural environments.
Microplastics from agricultural mulch films: a threat to growth promoting abilities of bacteria?
Researchers tested how microplastics shed from agricultural plastic mulch films affect soil bacteria that promote plant growth, finding that mulch-derived microplastics reduced the abundance and activity of key plant growth-promoting bacteria. The results suggest agricultural plastic use could undermine soil health and crop productivity.
Microplastics alter soil enzyme activities and microbial community structure without negatively affecting plant growth in an agroecosystem
Researchers tested how three types of microplastics (polystyrene, polyethylene, and PVC) affected plant growth, soil enzymes, and microbial communities in an agricultural setting. The study found that while microplastics suppressed several soil enzyme activities and altered carbon cycling, they did not negatively affect plant growth and in some cases actually enhanced above-ground and below-ground plant productivity.
Organic fertilizer facilitates the soil microplastic surface degradation and enriches the diversity of bacterial biofilm
Researchers found that organic fertilizer application facilitates surface degradation of microplastics in soil and enriches the diversity of bacterial biofilms on plastic surfaces, suggesting fertilizer use influences microplastic behavior and fate in agricultural soils.
Impacts of conventional and biodegradable microplastics in maize-soil ecosystems: Above and below ground
Researchers compared the effects of conventional plastics (polyethylene and polypropylene) and biodegradable plastics (PBAT and PCL) on corn plants and soil health. One biodegradable plastic, PCL, reduced plant production by about 74% and severely disrupted soil enzyme activity and microbial communities. This study cautions that simply replacing conventional plastics with biodegradable alternatives in farming is not guaranteed to be safer for soil ecosystems.
Biodegradable microplastics impact on soil: how poly-3-hydroxybutyrate alters microbial diversity and nitrogen mineralization processes
Researchers found that biodegradable plastic made from poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (P3HB), when present as microplastics in soil, disrupts the microbial communities that cycle nitrogen — reducing the availability of nitrate that plants need to grow, which contributed to stunted maize growth in pot experiments. The findings suggest that even biodegradable plastics can harm soil health when they break down into microplastic particles.
Effects of microplastics on common bean rhizosphere bacterial communities
Researchers studied how polyethylene and biodegradable microplastics affect bacterial communities in the root zone of common beans. Both types of microplastics significantly altered the diversity and composition of rhizosphere bacteria, with biodegradable microplastics inducing more distinctive changes than conventional polyethylene at higher concentrations.
Interference of microplastics on autotrophic microbiome in paddy soils: Shifts in carbon fixation rate, structure, abundance, co-occurrence, and assembly process
Researchers found that both conventional polystyrene and biodegradable PHBV microplastics significantly reduced carbon fixation rates in paddy soil by disrupting autotrophic microbial communities. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils may impair natural carbon sequestration processes, with polystyrene having a stronger inhibitory effect than biodegradable alternatives in bulk soil.