Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The Effects of Coexisting Elements (Zn and Ni) on Cd Accumulation and Rhizosphere Bacterial Community in the Soil-Tomato System

Researchers investigated how coexisting zinc and nickel affect cadmium accumulation in tomato plants and the rhizosphere bacterial community in contaminated agricultural soils, finding that elemental interactions meaningfully alter both Cd uptake by crops and the composition of soil microbial communities.

2023 Processes 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the Impact of Soil Humic Substances, Textural Fractions on the Sorption of Heavy Metals (Cd, Pb)

Researchers assessed how soil humic substances and textural fractions influence the sorption of cadmium and lead in different Slovak soil types. The study found that the type and quantity of humic materials significantly affect heavy metal retention, which is relevant to understanding how contaminants interact with soil-bound microplastics.

2024 Applied Sciences 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of cadmium contamination on bacterial and fungal communities in Panax ginseng-growing soil

Researchers examined how cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) contamination in soil affects the microbial communities around ginseng crops, finding that even low cadmium levels significantly disrupted bacterial diversity more than fungal diversity. Certain bacterial groups that tolerate cadmium became dominant, while beneficial microbes declined — changes that could affect soil health and ginseng safety.

2022 BMC Microbiology 44 citations
Article Tier 2

The addition of humic acid into soil contaminated with microplastics enhanced the growth of black gram (Vigna mungo L. Hepper) and modified the rhizosphere microbial community

A pot experiment found that microplastic-contaminated soil reduced germination, chlorophyll production, and beneficial root bacteria in black gram (a legume), but that adding humic acid to the contaminated soil largely reversed these negative effects. The finding suggests that humic acid soil amendments could serve as a practical and affordable tool to protect crop productivity in agricultural soils that are already contaminated with microplastics.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Rhizosphere microbiome metagenomics in PGPR-mediated alleviation of combined stress from polypropylene microplastics and Cd in hybrid Pennisetum

Researchers found that beneficial soil bacteria (PGPR) can help plants cope with the combined stress of polypropylene microplastics and the toxic heavy metal cadmium. The bacteria improved plant growth by 8-42% under contaminated conditions by reshaping the microbial community around plant roots. This study offers a potential strategy for maintaining crop productivity in farmland contaminated with both microplastics and heavy metals.

2025 Frontiers in Microbiology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial responses towards biochar application in potentially toxic element (PTE) contaminated soil: a critical review on effects and potential mechanisms

Researchers reviewed how biochar — a charcoal-like material made from organic waste — can protect soil microorganisms from toxic heavy metal contamination by reducing metal availability and improving soil conditions. The review found that biochar addition consistently shifted microbial communities toward healthier, more diverse compositions, offering a practical soil remediation strategy aligned with sustainability goals.

2023 Biochar 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Plant growth-promoting bacteria improve the Cd phytoremediation efficiency of soils contaminated with PE–Cd complex pollution by influencing the rhizosphere microbiome of sorghum

Researchers found that adding beneficial bacteria to soil contaminated with both polyethylene microplastics and the toxic metal cadmium helped sorghum plants grow larger and absorb more cadmium from the soil, improving cleanup potential. This approach matters for food safety because using plants and bacteria to remove combined microplastic-heavy metal pollution from farmland could reduce the amount of these contaminants that enter the food supply.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Plant growth-promoting bacteria modulate gene expression and induce antioxidant tolerance to alleviate synergistic toxicity from combined microplastic and Cd pollution in sorghum

Scientists found that a beneficial soil bacterium (Bacillus sp. SL-413) can help protect sorghum plants from the combined toxic effects of microplastics and cadmium, a heavy metal. The bacterium boosted plant growth, reduced harmful reactive oxygen species by up to 27%, and reactivated genes that the pollution had shut down. This research points to a nature-based solution for helping food crops survive in microplastic-contaminated soil.

2023 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 49 citations
Article Tier 2

The impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and endophytic bacteria on peanuts under the combined pollution of cadmium and microplastics

Researchers tested whether beneficial soil fungi and bacteria could help peanut plants cope with combined contamination from cadmium and microplastics. They found that the microbial treatment effectively trapped cadmium in the plant roots, preventing it from moving into the shoots and edible parts. The study suggests that harnessing natural soil microbes could be a practical strategy for growing safer food in polluted farmland.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Screening of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria helps alleviate the joint toxicity of PVC+Cd pollution in sorghum plants

Researchers isolated soil bacteria that promote plant growth and showed they can partially offset the combined toxicity of PVC microplastics and cadmium in sorghum, restoring soil nutrient availability and shifting rhizosphere bacterial communities in ways that support nitrogen and phosphorus cycling.

2024 Environmental Pollution 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Cadmium-Tolerant Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria Curtobacterium oceanosedimentum Improves Growth Attributes and Strengthens Antioxidant System in Chili (Capsicum frutescens)

Researchers found that the cadmium-tolerant bacterium Curtobacterium oceanosedimentum improved growth and strengthened antioxidant defenses in chili plants grown in cadmium-contaminated soil, demonstrating its potential as a bioremediation agent for heavy metal-polluted agricultural land.

2022 Sustainability 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi enhance maize cadmium resistance and reduce translocation: Dependence on microplastics concentration

Researchers investigated how beneficial soil fungi called arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can help maize plants resist cadmium toxicity in soils contaminated with both microplastics and heavy metals. They found that high concentrations of polyethylene microplastics worsened cadmium toxicity, but inoculation with mycorrhizal fungi significantly improved plant growth, nutrient uptake, and photosynthesis. The study suggests that these fungi could serve as a biological tool for managing crop health in soils with combined microplastic and heavy metal contamination.

2026
Article Tier 2

Microplastics alter cadmium accumulation in different soil-plant systems: Revealing the crucial roles of soil bacteria and metabolism

A study found that microplastics in soil can change how much cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, is absorbed by food crops, with the effects varying depending on soil type and the amount of plastic present. By altering soil chemistry and bacterial communities, microplastics reshape how pollutants move through farmland and into the food we eat.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on cadmium accumulation in Solanum nigrum L.: A study involving microbial communities and metabolomics profiles

This study found that polyethylene microplastics in soil reduced the ability of a plant known for cleaning up cadmium contamination to absorb the toxic metal. The microplastics changed the soil's microbial community and altered the plant's metabolism in ways that disrupted its natural heavy metal uptake process. This is important because it suggests microplastic pollution in farmland could interfere with natural and engineered soil cleanup strategies for heavy metals.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Insights on Immobilization of Cd Contamination in Soil: Synergic Impacts of Water Management and Bauxite Residue

Researchers tested whether combining flooding with bauxite residue or lime could reduce the availability of toxic cadmium in contaminated soil. Both combined treatments raised soil pH and increased the proportion of cadmium locked into stable, residual forms while decreasing the easily exchangeable fraction. The bauxite residue treatment proved slightly more effective at immobilizing cadmium, offering a potential soil remediation strategy for heavy metal-contaminated agricultural land.

2024 ACS Omega 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Impacts of polypropylene microplastics on the distribution of cadmium, enzyme activities, and bacterial community in black soil at the aggregate level

Researchers found that adding polypropylene microplastics to soil contaminated with cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) changed how the metal distributed across different soil particle sizes and shifted bacterial communities. The microplastics increased cadmium availability in some soil fractions, potentially making it easier for plants to absorb this toxic metal. This suggests that microplastic-contaminated farmland may pose greater heavy metal exposure risks for crops and, ultimately, for people who eat them.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Regulation of the Rhizosphere Microenvironment by Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi to Mitigate the Effects of Cadmium Contamination on Perennial Ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.)

Researchers studied how arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi help perennial ryegrass cope with cadmium-contaminated soil by reshaping the microbial community around the plant roots. They found that the fungi increased beneficial bacteria and reduced harmful ones, improving the plant's ability to tolerate heavy metal stress. While focused on cadmium rather than microplastics, the study demonstrates how soil microorganisms can help plants resist environmental contaminants.

2024 Microorganisms 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Different doses of cadmium in soil negatively impact growth, plant mineral homeostasis and antioxidant defense of mung bean plants

Researchers studied how different cadmium concentrations in soil affect the growth, mineral nutrition, and biochemical health of mung bean plants. The study found that increasing cadmium doses significantly disrupted plant mineral homeostasis, reduced chlorophyll and protein content, and impaired antioxidant defense systems in a dose-dependent manner.

2023 TURKISH JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Beneficial microbial consortia effectively alleviated plant stress caused by the synergistic toxicity of microplastics and cadmium

Researchers found that combined pollution from microplastics (PVC) and the heavy metal cadmium creates a toxic effect in soil that is worse than either pollutant alone. However, applying beneficial bacteria to contaminated soil helped plants grow better and restored soil nutrients. These findings suggest that probiotic-like bacteria could help repair farmland damaged by microplastic and heavy metal pollution.

2025 Industrial Crops and Products 12 citations
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Biochar Offsets Microplastic-Induced Cadmium Mobilization and Plant Accumulation in Contaminated Soils

This greenhouse study found that microplastics in soil can increase how much cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) is absorbed by crops. Adding biochar to the soil helped counteract this effect, reducing cadmium uptake by plants — a promising finding for protecting food safety in contaminated farmland.

2026 Water Air & Soil Pollution
Article Tier 2

Principles and Applicability of Integrated Remediation Strategies for Heavy Metal Removal/Recovery from Contaminated Environments

Researchers reviewed strategies for removing heavy metals from contaminated agricultural soils, focusing on how chelating agents — chemicals that bind to metals — combined with beneficial bacteria can help plants absorb and neutralize metals without harming plant growth, offering cleaner soils for safer food production.

2022 Journal of Plant Growth Regulation 106 citations
Article Tier 2

Dopamine alleviates cadmium stress in apple trees by recruiting beneficial microorganisms to enhance the physiological resilience revealed by high-throughput sequencing and soil metabolomics

Researchers found that applying dopamine to soil helped apple trees resist cadmium toxicity by reducing the accumulation of the heavy metal and harmful reactive oxygen species in the plants. The dopamine treatment also reshaped the soil microbial community, recruiting beneficial bacteria that further enhanced the trees' stress tolerance. The study suggests dopamine could serve as a practical tool for improving crop resilience in soils contaminated with heavy metals.

2023 Horticulture Research 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Single and Combined Effect of Cd and Zn on Growth, Metal Accumulation and Mineral Nutrition in Tobacco Plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.)

Researchers tested how cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) and zinc interact when taken up by tobacco plants in contaminated soil, finding that adding zinc significantly reduced cadmium accumulation in the plants. This suggests zinc amendments to agricultural soil could be a practical strategy for reducing toxic metal uptake in food and tobacco crops.

2023 Journal of soil science and plant nutrition 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactions of microplastics and cadmium on plant growth and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in an agricultural soil

Researchers studied how polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics interact with cadmium contamination to affect maize growth and beneficial soil fungi in agricultural soil. While polyethylene showed minimal direct plant toxicity, high doses of polylactic acid significantly reduced maize biomass, and both plastic types altered the communities of root-associated fungi. The study suggests that co-contamination of microplastics and heavy metals in farmland can jointly disrupt plant health and soil ecosystems.

2020 Chemosphere 643 citations