Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar

This comprehensive review synthesizes 20 years of research on biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste that can improve soil health and reduce pollution. Biochar can reduce plant uptake of heavy metals by 17-39% and increase nutrient availability, making it potentially useful for cleaning up microplastic-contaminated soils. While not directly about microplastics, the findings are relevant because biochar could help mitigate the effects of soil pollutants that microplastics carry and concentrate.

2021 GCB Bioenergy 872 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the potential of biochar for the remediation of microbial communities and element cycling in microplastic-contaminated soil

Scientists found that adding biochar (a charcoal-like material made from plant waste) to soil contaminated with microplastics helped restore healthy microbial communities and nutrient cycling. The biochar reversed negative effects that microplastics had on soil chemistry, including nitrogen and phosphorus availability. This suggests biochar could be a practical tool for repairing farmland damaged by microplastic pollution.

2024 Chemosphere 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar-mediated remediation of low-density polyethylene microplastic-polluted soil-plant systems: Role of phosphorus and protist community responses

Researchers found that adding biochar (a charcoal-like soil additive) to soil contaminated with microplastics helped improve plant growth by restoring phosphorus cycling. The microplastics disrupted soil microbe communities, but biochar treatment shifted these communities in beneficial ways. This suggests biochar could be a practical tool for farming in soils contaminated with plastic pollution.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Advances and prospects of biochar in improving soil fertility, biochemical quality, and environmental applications

This review examines how biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste, can improve soil health and clean up pollutants including microplastics. Biochar's ability to absorb and trap contaminants makes it a promising tool for reducing microplastic pollution in agricultural soil. The findings suggest biochar could help limit the amount of microplastics that enter the food chain through crops grown in contaminated soil.

2023 Frontiers in Environmental Science 127 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effect of biochar and soil moisture on soil chemical properties and microbial community composition in microplastic‐contaminated agricultural soil

Biochar was applied to microplastic-contaminated agricultural soil under different moisture conditions, with results showing that biochar improved soil chemical properties and shifted microbial communities in ways that partially offset microplastic-induced degradation. The study suggests biochar as a practical soil amendment to mitigate microplastic impacts in farming systems.

2022 Soil Use and Management 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of biochar amendment on bacterial communities and their function predictions in a microplastic-contaminated Capsicum annuum L. soil

Researchers investigated how adding biochar to soil contaminated with microplastics affects bacterial communities during pepper plant growth. They found that biochar amendment helped restore bacterial diversity and shifted community composition toward beneficial species, counteracting some of the negative effects of microplastic contamination. The study suggests that biochar could be a practical soil management tool for supporting microbial health in plastic-polluted agricultural systems.

2023 Environmental Technology & Innovation 63 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar-amended soil can further sorb atmospheric CO2 for more carbon sequestration

Researchers found that adding biochar to soil not only stores carbon but also helps the soil absorb additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through mineral reactions. While not directly about microplastics, biochar-amended soils could offer dual benefits by both sequestering carbon and potentially trapping microplastics, since biochar has been shown to adsorb plastic particles. This approach could address both climate change and plastic pollution in agricultural settings.

2025 Communications Earth & Environment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar mitigates microplastic‐induced destabilization of soil organic carbon via molecular recalcitrance and microbial process regulation

Biochar amendments to soil were shown to offset the destabilizing effects that microplastics have on soil aggregate structure. The finding suggests that biochar could be a practical soil amendment to counteract microplastic-driven soil degradation in contaminated agricultural lands.

2025 Functional Ecology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar alleviated the toxic effects of PVC microplastic in a soil-plant system by upregulating soil enzyme activities and microbial abundance

Researchers tested whether adding biochar to soil could reduce the harmful effects of PVC microplastic contamination on plant growth and soil health. They found that biochar amendment increased plant biomass, restored soil enzyme activity, and boosted beneficial microbial populations that had been suppressed by the microplastics. The study suggests that biochar could serve as a practical tool for rehabilitating agricultural soils contaminated with plastic particles.

2023 Environmental Pollution 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar alters chemical and microbial properties of microplastic-contaminated soil

Researchers found that biochar amendments improved chemical and microbial properties of microplastic-contaminated soil, with effects varying by biochar type and water conditions, suggesting biochar as a potential remediation tool for plastic-polluted agricultural soils.

2022 Environmental Research 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar's Effects and Operations on Microbial Life within the Soil Ecosystem- A Review

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this review examines how biochar additions to soil affect microbial community structure, enzymatic activity, and contaminant transformation, without a specific focus on microplastics.

2023 International Journal of Plant & Soil Science
Article Tier 2

Biochar Mitigates the Negative Effects of Microplastics on Sugarcane Growth by Altering Soil Nutrients and Microbial Community Structure and Function

Microplastic contamination in sugarcane-growing soils in China reduces crop biomass and degrades soil nutrients and microbial diversity. Adding biochar to microplastic-polluted soil helped offset these harms — restoring sugarcane growth, stabilizing soil pH, and improving bacterial community richness. The findings suggest biochar is a practical tool for rehabilitating agricultural land affected by plastic pollution.

2023 Plants 14 citations
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Impact of Varying doses of Biochar and INM Practices on Agro Physiological Performance, Yield and Economics of Maize (Zea mays L.)

A two-year field experiment found that combining 100% recommended fertilizer dose with 5 t/ha biochar and biofertilizer produced the highest maize yields and best economic returns on reclaimed sodic soils. While not directly about microplastics, the study demonstrates how biochar soil amendments can improve crop productivity, and biochar has separately been studied as a potential sorbent for microplastics in agricultural soils.

2023 International Journal of Plant & Soil Science
Article Tier 2

Enhancing Soil Health and Plant Growth through Microbial Fertilizers: Mechanisms, Benefits, and Sustainable Agricultural Practices

This study examines how microbial fertilizers improve soil health by boosting beneficial microorganism populations that help plants absorb nutrients and resist disease. While not directly about microplastics, healthy soil microbial communities are important for breaking down environmental contaminants including plastics. The research supports sustainable farming practices that could help soils better cope with microplastic contamination.

2024 Agronomy 201 citations
Article Tier 2

Role of Biochar and Microbes in Remediation of Microplastics in Soil

This review examines how biochar and soil microbes can be combined to remediate microplastic-contaminated soils, synthesizing evidence for biochar's adsorption capacity and microbial degradation pathways that reduce microplastic persistence and toxicity.

2025 Journal of Innovative Solutions for Eco-Environmental Sustainability
Article Tier 2

Biochar counteracts the negative effects of microplastics on physiological and biochemical characteristics and leaf metabolism in Zea mays L

Researchers studied whether biochar could counteract the harmful effects of microplastics on maize plant growth and soil health. They found that adding biochar to microplastic-contaminated soil restored antioxidant enzyme balance, improved beneficial metabolic pathways in leaves, and increased bacterial community diversity. The study suggests biochar may help plants resist microplastic-induced stress by boosting glucose metabolism in root systems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Review Tier 2

Advancing modified biochar for sustainable agriculture: a comprehensive review on characterization, analysis, and soil performance

This review covers how biochar, a carbon-rich material made from organic waste, can be modified to improve soil health and crop growth. While not directly about microplastics, modified biochar has been studied as a potential tool for absorbing and immobilizing microplastics in contaminated soil. Understanding how to optimize biochar properties could help develop strategies for reducing microplastic uptake by food crops.

2025 Biochar 42 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of incorporating biochar on soil quality and barley yield in microplastics-contaminated soils

This study tested whether adding biochar to microplastic-contaminated soil could improve soil quality and crop performance. Researchers found that biochar application helped offset some of the negative effects of microplastics on soil properties and boosted barley yields even under drought conditions. The results suggest biochar could be a practical tool for managing farmland affected by plastic pollution.

2024 Chemosphere 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar relieves the toxic effects of microplastics on the root-rhizosphere soil system by altering root expression profiles and microbial diversity and functions

Researchers found that adding biochar (a charcoal-like soil amendment) to soil contaminated with polystyrene microplastics helped peanut plants recover by boosting their antioxidant defenses and restoring beneficial soil bacteria. This suggests biochar could be a practical tool for protecting crops in microplastic-contaminated farmland, which matters for food safety and reducing the amount of microplastics that enter the human food chain.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 46 citations
Article Tier 2

The Removal and Mitigation Effects of Biochar on Microplastics in Water and Soils: Application and Mechanism Analysis

This review examines how biochar can be used to both remove microplastics from water and mitigate their harmful effects in soils. Researchers found that woody biochar was the most effective type for adsorbing microplastics, while also helping to restore soil enzyme activities and microbial communities disrupted by plastic contamination. The study calls for further research into optimizing biochar applications and understanding the long-term environmental implications of biochar-microplastic interactions.

2024 Sustainability 18 citations