Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Bacterial-charged biochar enhances plant growth and mitigates microplastic toxicity by altering microbial communities and soil metabolism

Researchers tested whether adding bacteria and biochar (a charcoal-like material) to microplastic-contaminated paddy soil could help rice plants recover, finding that the combined treatment increased shoot weight by over 100% and dramatically improved nutrient uptake genes. The treatment also enriched beneficial soil microbes and reduced oxidative stress in rice, offering a promising strategy for restoring agricultural soils polluted with microplastics.

2025 Plant Stress 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of the effects of polyethylene microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations on the plant-soil-microbiota system: A two-year field trial

Researchers conducted a two-year field trial to study how polyethylene microplastics at environmentally relevant concentrations affect crops, soil, and microbial communities in a rice-wheat rotation system. They found that microplastics did not harm wheat growth but actually increased rice grain weight and plant height, while reducing soil nutrient levels including nitrogen and phosphorus. The study reveals that microplastics can alter soil bacterial communities and disrupt metabolic processes in ways that differ between crop seasons.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Divergent mechanisms of labile phosphorus accumulation in paddy soils under TPU microplastics versus manure-derived hydrochar: roles of dissolved organic matter and bacterial communities

Scientists found that tiny plastic particles and a charcoal-like material called hydrochar can increase the amount of phosphorus available to rice plants in soil by 14-21%. Both materials work by changing the soil's chemistry and the helpful bacteria that live in it, but they do it in different ways. This matters because phosphorus is essential for growing healthy crops, and understanding how plastic pollution affects soil could help farmers maintain productive rice fields.

2026 Carbon Research
Article Tier 2

High temperatures and microplastic enhanced inorganic phosphorus mineralization and phoD-harboring bacterial abundance in paddy soil

Researchers studied how microplastic contamination in rice paddy soil interacts with high temperatures to alter nutrient cycling and soil bacteria. They found that at normal temperatures microplastics reduced key soil nutrients, but at elevated temperatures the effect reversed, actually increasing nutrient availability and microbial diversity. The findings suggest that climate change could amplify the ways microplastics disrupt agricultural soil ecosystems.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 4 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

Synergistic effects of biochar and phosphate fertilizer on fungal communities and soybean productivity in microplastic-contaminated alkaline soils

Researchers investigated synergistic effects of biochar and phosphate fertilizer on fungal communities and phosphorus dynamics in alkaline soils containing microplastics, finding that biochar application could partially counteract the disruption of plant-microbe-soil phosphorus dynamics caused by microplastic contamination.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastic Contamination on Phosphorus Availability, Alkaline Phosphatase Activity, and Polymer Degradation in Soil

Researchers studied how different types of microplastics at various concentrations affect phosphorus availability and enzyme activity in soil. They found that microplastics altered phosphorus cycling both by directly supplying phosphorus in some cases and by changing microbial enzyme function. The study suggests that microplastic contamination could disrupt soil nutrient dynamics important for maintaining agricultural productivity.

2025 Polymers 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Mitigating the detrimental impacts of low- and high-density polyethylene microplastics using a novel microbial consortium on a soil-plant system: Insights and interactions

Researchers tested a novel microbial consortium containing bacterial and fungal strains to mitigate the harmful effects of polyethylene microplastics on soil and sunflower growth. The study found that microplastics altered soil pH, electrical conductivity, and organic carbon levels, but the microbial consortium treatment helped counteract some of these detrimental effects on the soil-plant system.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in rice systems: Impacts, mechanisms and green remediation strategies

This review examines how microplastic contamination in rice paddies affects soil health, microbial communities, and crop yields, finding that the particles disrupt nutrient cycling, impair root growth, and reduce grain production. Researchers evaluated a range of remediation strategies including phytoremediation, microbial degradation, algae-based approaches, and genetic engineering techniques. The study highlights the urgent need for integrated solutions to protect food security from growing plastic pollution in agricultural soils.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 2 citations
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

Microplastics in soil can increase nutrient uptake by wheat

Researchers found that microplastics in soil can increase nutrient uptake by wheat by stimulating microbial activity and altering root interactions, suggesting microplastics may disrupt natural nutrient-cycling strategies in agricultural systems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 98 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of different microplastics on the mobilization of soil inorganic phosphorus by exomycorrhizal fungi

Researchers examined how different microplastic types affect soil inorganic phosphorus mobilization, finding that polymer type and particle size influence phosphorus release from soil minerals, with implications for nutrient cycling in plastic-contaminated soils.

2024 Global NEST Journal
Article Tier 2

Influence of polyethylene terephthalate microplastic and biochar co-existence on paddy soil bacterial community structure and greenhouse gas emission

Researchers studied how polyethylene terephthalate microplastics and biochar, both common in agricultural soils, affect soil bacteria and greenhouse gas emissions during rice cultivation. They found that microplastics alone reduced bacterial diversity, but adding biochar alongside the microplastics partially restored microbial communities and altered gas emissions. The study suggests that biochar may help mitigate some of the negative soil health effects of microplastic contamination in paddy fields.

2021 Environmental Pollution 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterizing Microplastic Pollution and Microbial Community Status in Rice Paddy Soils Across Varied Environmental Settings in Songjiang, Shanghai: An Analysis of Morpho-Chemical Characteristics

Researchers characterized microplastic pollution and associated microbial communities in rice paddy soils, finding widespread microplastic contamination that correlated with shifts in soil bacterial diversity. Plastic-associated microbial communities differed from bulk soil communities, suggesting microplastics create distinct microbial niches in agricultural environments.

2024 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology (IJISRT) 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Discrepant effects of microplastics on soil phosphorus availability under different phosphorus fertilizer applications

Researchers studied how polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics interact with different types of phosphorus fertilizers in soil over 56 days. They found that microplastics reduced the amount of plant-available phosphorus in organically fertilized soils by up to 29%, while increasing it in soils treated with mineral fertilizer. The findings suggest that microplastic contamination in farmland could alter how effectively crops access essential nutrients depending on the fertilizer type used.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Nitrogen Fertilization Alleviates Microplastic Effects on Soil Protist Communities and Rape (Brassica napus L.) Growth

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics and nitrogen fertilizer individually and together affect soil microorganisms and rapeseed crop growth. They found that while microplastics alone reduced protist diversity and altered soil communities, adding nitrogen fertilizer counteracted many of these negative effects. The study suggests that nitrogen fertilization may be a practical strategy to buffer agricultural soils against some of the harmful impacts of microplastic contamination.

2025 Microorganisms 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological and physiological risks of micro- and nanoplastics in rice agroecosystems: Challenges and engineering-based mitigation approaches

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics harm rice — a staple crop feeding billions — by disrupting root growth, reducing photosynthesis, altering soil microbes, and making heavy metals more available to plants. The review proposes that ecological engineering strategies like microbial bioremediation and organic soil amendments could help protect agricultural land from plastic contamination.

2026 Journal of Ecological Engineering
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Influence Phosphate Adsorption in Volcanic Ash Soil

Researchers found that adding polyethylene microplastics to volcanic ash soil slightly increased the soil's ability to hold phosphorus but also made phosphorus easier to wash away, potentially reducing its availability to plants. This suggests microplastic contamination in farmland soils could quietly alter nutrient cycling in ways that affect crop growth.

2025 Journal of soil science and plant nutrition 3 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

Planting Enhances Soil Resistance to Microplastics: Evidence from Carbon Emissions and Dissolved Organic Matter Stability

Researchers found that growing plants in soil contaminated with microplastics helped protect the soil ecosystem compared to unplanted soil. The root systems of plants stabilized the soil's microbial communities and reduced the carbon emissions caused by microplastic pollution, suggesting that maintaining plant cover could be one strategy to limit the environmental damage from microplastics in farmland.

2024 Environmental Science & Technology 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of microplastics and arsenic on nutrients and microorganisms in rice rhizosphere soil

Researchers investigated how polystyrene and polytetrafluoroethylene microplastics interact with arsenic contamination in rice rhizosphere soil. The study found that microplastics reduced arsenic bioavailability and altered microbial communities, while both pollutants together inhibited key soil enzyme activities and reduced available nitrogen and phosphorus, suggesting combined microplastic-arsenic pollution can impair nutrient cycling and crop growth.

2021 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 406 citations
Article Tier 2

Legacy effect of microplastics on plant–soil feedbacks

Researchers examined the legacy effects of microplastic contamination on plant-soil feedbacks using soil previously conditioned with various microplastic types, finding that residual microplastics altered soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling in ways that affected subsequent plant growth.

2022 Frontiers in Plant Science 32 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2025 Hygiene and Environmental Health Advances
Article Tier 2

Microplastics shape microbial communities affecting soil organic matter decomposition in paddy soil

Researchers found that microplastics shape soil microbial communities in paddy soils in ways that affect organic matter decomposition, revealing how bacterial succession and carbon cycling are altered by microplastic presence in agricultural systems.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 181 citations