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Papers
61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Enhancing Soil Resilience: Bacterial Alginate Hydrogel vs. Algal Alginate in Mitigating Agricultural Challenges
ClearSignificance of biopolymer-based hydrogels and their applications in agriculture: a review in perspective of synthesis and their degree of swelling for water holding
Researchers reviewed the development and agricultural applications of hydrogels made from natural biopolymers, which are biodegradable alternatives to synthetic plastics. These hydrogels can retain large amounts of water and deliver nutrients or active compounds to soil in a controlled way. The study suggests that biopolymer hydrogels could help improve crop yields while reducing the environmental burden of synthetic plastic materials in agriculture.
Development and characterization of a carboxymethyl cellulose-alginate hybrid superabsorbent hydrogel designed for water management in agriculture
Researchers formulated a carboxymethyl cellulose and sodium alginate hydrogel for agricultural water retention, optimizing it to absorb over 1,600 times its weight in water while remaining thermally stable and reusable — offering a bio-based alternative to synthetic superabsorbent polymers that contribute to microplastic pollution in farmland soils.
Study on the impact of microplastic characteristics on ecological function, microbial community migration and reconstruction mechanisms during saline-alkali soil remediation
Researchers systematically analyzed how polyethylene, polypropylene, and PBAT microplastics affect soil ecological functions and microbial communities during saline-alkali soil remediation. The study found that different types of microplastics introduced through agricultural practices such as plastic film residue have complex and varying effects on soil microbial community structure, with implications for understanding how plastic contamination affects agricultural soil improvement efforts.
Polymeric Hydrogels in Agriculture: Environmental Performance, Sustainability Challenges, and Future Perspectives
A review assessed the environmental performance and degradation behavior of polymeric hydrogels used in agriculture as soil moisture-retaining agents. The study raises concerns about whether these materials break down safely or contribute to microplastic accumulation in farmland soils.
Plant-driven strategies for mitigating microplastic pollution in agricultural ecosystems
Researchers review how microplastics damage agricultural soils and crops — disrupting soil structure, starving plants of nutrients, and triggering oxidative stress — and explore plant- and microbe-based strategies like root-associated bacteria and biochar amendments as promising but underexplored tools for cleaning up plastic-contaminated farmland.
From Fruit Waste to Hydrogels for Agricultural Applications
Not relevant to microplastics — this study develops biodegradable hydrogels from fruit waste (pectin and starch) to reduce water loss and slow herbicide migration in sandy agricultural soils, without any connection to plastic pollution.
Effect of microplastics used in agronomic practices on agricultural soil properties and plant functions: Potential contribution to the circular economy of rural areas
Researchers measured the effects of microplastics used in common agricultural practices — including mulch film residues and irrigation-delivered particles — on soil physical, chemical, and biological properties. Microplastic presence altered soil aggregation, water retention, and microbial community composition, with effects depending on plastic concentration, polymer type, and soil texture.
Role of microalgae as a sustainable alternative of biopolymers and its application in industries
Not a microplastics paper — this review examines the potential of algae-derived biopolymers (such as alginate, carrageenan, and polyhydroxyalkanoates) as biodegradable, eco-friendly replacements for petroleum-based plastics, highlighting their advantages but noting challenges for large-scale production.
The Growing Problem of Soil Pollution with Microplastics: a Review
This review examined how microplastic accumulation in soil disrupts physicochemical properties including structure, porosity, and water retention, impairs soil microbial communities, inhibits plant growth, and causes oxidative stress, with agricultural soils identified as especially vulnerable to contamination.
Tiny toxins, big problems: the hidden threat of microplastic in agroecosystems
This review examines the impacts of microplastic contamination in agricultural soils, covering sources from plastic mulch and irrigation, effects on soil structure, water retention, microbial diversity, and nutrient cycling, and consequences for crop health and food safety.
Microplastics in agricultural soils : effects on physical, chemical, and microbiological processes
This thesis examines how pristine and degraded conventional microplastics (polyethylene and PET) and biodegradable microplastics (PBAT) affect soil physical, chemical, and microbial properties across silty loam and sandy loam soils, integrating five studies involving greenhouse and laboratory experiments to assess impacts on aggregation, water-holding capacity, carbon storage, respiration, nutrient cycling, and microbial community composition.
A New Approach for Remediating Polyethylene Microplastics Pollution in Agricultural Soils: The Combined Effects of Compound Microbial Agent
Researchers developed a compound microbial agent containing plastic-degrading microbes and tested it in field conditions on honeydew melon and eggplant farms, finding it effectively decomposed polyethylene microplastics in soil while also improving plant growth and soil properties.
Microplastic effects on soil aggregation in sterilized and non-sterilized soils
Researchers tested how microplastics affect soil aggregate stability in both sterilized and non-sterilized soils, finding that microbial activity mediates much of the structural impact and that plastic type influences aggregation differently depending on soil biology.
Tiny pollutants, big consequences: investigating the influence of nano- and microplastics on soil properties and plant health with mitigation strategies
Researchers reviewed the impact of nanoplastics and microplastics on soil properties and plant health, examining absorption and translocation mechanisms in plants. The study suggests that plastic particles alter soil structure and microbial communities, impair plant growth and nutrient uptake, and proposes mitigation strategies to address these emerging threats to agricultural ecosystems.
Microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities under contrasting soil environments
Researchers compared microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities across contrasting soil environments, finding that the type of microplastic polymer and soil conditions together determine whether microbial activity and carbon cycling are stimulated or suppressed.
A New Approachfor Remediating Polyethylene MicroplasticsPollution in Agricultural Soils: The Combined Effects of CompoundMicrobial Agent
Researchers developed a compound microbial agent capable of degrading polyethylene microplastics and tested it in honeydew melon and eggplant fields, finding it reduced soil microplastic levels while also improving plant growth and overall soil health.
Microplastics alter soil structure and microbial community composition
Researchers found that both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics break down soil structure in similar ways, increasing the proportion of smaller soil clumps while reducing larger, more stable ones. The microplastics also significantly altered soil bacterial communities, with effects varying by particle size. This matters because changes to soil health can affect the food we grow and the broader ecosystem services that soil provides.
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.
Microplastics accumulation in agricultural soil: Evidence for the presence, potential effects, extraction, and current bioremediation approaches
This review examines the accumulation of microplastics in agricultural soils from sources like plastic mulching and irrigation, discussing their effects on soil properties and crop growth, along with current bioremediation approaches for removing soil microplastics.
Mineral solubilizing microorganisms and their combination with plants enhance slope stability by regulating soil aggregate structure
This study examined how mineral-solubilizing microorganisms combined with plants improve slope stability by altering soil aggregate structure. This is a geotechnical and soil engineering paper with no direct connection to microplastics research.
Impacts of Microplastics on the Soil Biophysical Environment
Four common microplastic types (polyacrylic fibers, polyamide beads, polyester fibers, PE fragments) were added to loamy sand soil at environmentally relevant concentrations in a garden experiment and effects on soil-water relationships, structure, and microbial function were measured over 5 weeks. Results showed that microplastics altered water repellency, aggregate stability, and microbial activity in a plastic-type-dependent manner, confirming that microplastics can disrupt fundamental soil biophysical processes.
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.
Polysacharide-based Materials as Support for
Researchers developed polysaccharide-based scaffolds loaded with microplastic-degrading bacteria, using sodium alginate with calcium chloride cross-linking to create biocarriers that support microorganism activity and offer a biological treatment approach for removing microplastics from wastewater.
Microplastics in agricultural soils: a new challenge not only for agro-environmental policy?
This review addresses microplastic pollution in agricultural soils, identifying farming practices like mulching and sludge application as significant sources and discussing potential impacts on soil health and food safety. It calls for both policy action and more research on microplastic behavior in terrestrial environments.