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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Increasing soil microplastic diversity decreases community biomass via its impact on the most dominant species
ClearThe more microplastic types pollute the soil, the stronger the growth suppression of invasive alien and native plants
Researchers grew 16 plant species in soil contaminated with varying numbers of microplastic types and found that plant growth declined more as the diversity of microplastics increased. Invasive species were particularly affected, losing their typical growth advantage over native plants when exposed to multiple microplastic types. The study suggests that real-world soil contamination, which typically involves a mix of different plastics, may suppress plant growth more than single-plastic experiments have shown.
Microplastic shape, concentration and polymer type affect soil properties and plant biomass
Experiments showed that microplastic shape, concentration, and polymer type all influence soil physical properties and plant biomass, with certain types reducing plant growth. The findings highlight that the wide variety of plastic particle types entering soils creates complex and variable ecological risks.
Soil heterogeneity in the horizontal distribution of microplastics influences productivity and species composition of plant communities
Researchers grew experimental plant communities in soils with either homogeneous or heterogeneous horizontal distributions of six common microplastic types, finding that spatial heterogeneity in microplastic distribution significantly influences plant community productivity and species composition in terrestrial ecosystems.
Microplastic Diversity as a Potential Driver of Soil Denitrification Shifts
Researchers conducted a soil microcosm experiment to study how the diversity of microplastic types (rather than just individual types) affects soil ecosystem functions. They found that increasing microplastic diversity raised soil pH and organic carbon while reducing available nitrogen, and significantly boosted bacterial diversity and denitrifying gene abundance. The findings suggest that realistic mixtures of multiple microplastic types in soil may have stronger impacts on nitrogen cycling than single-type contamination.
Microplastics Can Change Soil Properties and Affect Plant Performance
Researchers tested six different types of microplastics in soil and found that they altered key soil properties including water-holding capacity, bulk density, and microbial activity. These changes in soil structure had cascading effects on plant growth, with some microplastic types reducing above-ground biomass. The study demonstrates that microplastics can fundamentally change how soil functions, with consequences for plant health and ecosystem stability.
Microplastic-contamination can reshape plant community by affecting soil properties
Researchers investigated how polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics affect naturally germinated plant communities by altering soil properties. The study found that microplastics changed soil nutrient availability, decreased community stability, and shifted plant species composition, with total phosphorus identified as the strongest driver of changes in plant community structure.
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 soil microplastic heterogeneity on plant growth vary with species and microplastic types
Researchers tested how the uneven distribution of microplastics in soil affects the growth and root foraging behavior of seven herbaceous plant species. They found that plant responses to microplastic heterogeneity varied significantly depending on both the plant species and the type of microplastic present. The study suggests that the patchy nature of real-world soil microplastic contamination may affect plant communities in more complex ways than uniform exposure experiments indicate.
Microplastic and drought influence the positive effect of plant diversity on plant biomass production
Researchers found that microplastic pollution and drought stress each reduced the positive effect of plant diversity on biomass production, with their combined presence further weakening this relationship in a glasshouse experiment across plant communities of varying diversity.
Effects of Microplastic Fibers and Drought on Plant Communities
Researchers added microplastic fibers to plant communities and applied drought stress, finding that microfibers reduced total community productivity and shifted species composition, with combined microplastic-drought stress causing greater harm than either factor alone.
Microplastic residues in wetland ecosystems: Do they truly threaten the plant-microbe-soil system?
Researchers used a controlled pot experiment to assess microplastic effects on wetland plant growth, soil microbial communities, and nutrient cycling, finding that MPs altered soil enzyme activity and shifted bacterial community composition but had variable effects on plant growth depending on plastic type.
Microplastic and drought influence the positive effect of plant diversity on plant biomass production
Researchers conducted a glasshouse experiment examining how microplastic pollution interacts with drought to affect plant biomass production across a gradient of plant diversity, finding that microplastics influenced the positive biodiversity-productivity relationship. The study reveals that microplastic pollution is a novel stressor that interacts with drought to affect terrestrial ecosystem functionality in ways not predictable from single-factor experiments.
Microplastics increase soil microbial network complexity and trigger diversity-driven community assembly
Researchers found that microplastics in soil increased bacterial network complexity and shifted microbial community assembly in a diversity-dependent manner, with high-density polyethylene causing more harm to plant growth than polystyrene or polylactic acid particles.
Microplastic Mixture Diversity Destabilizes Mineral-Associated Carbon via Constraining the Accumulation of Microbial Necromass
Researchers exposed soil to increasing microplastic diversity (1–12 polymer types) and found that greater polymer diversity reduced microbial necromass carbon by up to 9% and mineral-associated organic carbon by up to 11%, suggesting diverse microplastic mixtures pose greater risks to soil carbon sequestration.
Nonbiodegradable microplastic types determine the diversity and structure of soil microbial communities: A meta-analysis
A global meta-analysis of 95 studies found that nonbiodegradable microplastics increased soil active microbial biomass by 42% while simultaneously decreasing bacterial Shannon and Chao1 diversity indices by 2-3%. This paradox suggests microplastics promote the growth of specific microbial taxa while suppressing overall diversity, potentially disrupting soil biogeochemical cycles.
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.
Microplastic exposure modulates the impacts of genotypic richness and evenness on population performance of Hydrocotyle verticillata
Researchers manipulated genotypic richness and evenness of the clonal plant Hydrocotyle verticillata under three biodegradable microplastic types—PLA, PHB, and PBS—finding that all microplastics reduced biomass and that PBS uniquely suppressed the normally positive effect of high genotypic evenness on plant performance, demonstrating that microplastic type shapes biodiversity–productivity relationships.
Microplastic abundance thresholds shape the growth of 18 wild plant species: the importance of soil pH
A large experiment exposed 18 wild plant species to a gradient of polypropylene microplastics in soil and found that the impacts were surprisingly mixed: 50% of species were unaffected, 39% actually grew better with microplastics present, and only 11% were inhibited. Growth responses followed a hump-shaped curve, peaking at moderate microplastic concentrations, and soil pH emerged as a key factor mediating the effects by altering nutrient uptake and leaf chlorophyll. These results challenge the assumption that microplastics always harm plants, suggesting that ecosystem-level effects depend heavily on concentration, species, and soil chemistry. The findings underscore the complexity of predicting how plastic pollution affects terrestrial food webs.
The effects of microplastics on crop variation depend on polymer types and their interactions with soil nutrient availability and weed competition
Researchers investigated how different types of microplastics interact with soil nutrient availability and weed competition to affect crop growth. The study found that the effects of microplastics on plant performance depend on the polymer type and are modulated by fertilization levels and competition from weeds, suggesting that real-world agricultural impacts of microplastic pollution may be more complex than laboratory studies indicate.
MicroplasticMixture Diversity Destabilizes Mineral-AssociatedCarbon via Constraining the Accumulation of Microbial Necromass
Researchers exposed soils to mixtures of increasing microplastic diversity (1 to 12 polymer types) and found that greater microplastic mixture diversity reduced microbial necromass carbon and mineral-associated organic carbon by 3.5-9.2% and 4.2-11.4% respectively compared to single-polymer treatments. The results indicate that diverse microplastic mixtures destabilize soil carbon stocks by constraining the accumulation of microbial necromass, a key pathway for long-term carbon sequestration.
Live soil ameliorated the negative effects of biodegradable but not non-biodegradable microplastics on the growth of plant communities
Researchers conducted a greenhouse experiment with six plant communities and five biodegradable and non-biodegradable microplastic treatments to compare their effects on plant community productivity and diversity, with and without live soil biota. Results showed live soil ameliorated the negative effects of biodegradable but not non-biodegradable microplastics on plant growth, demonstrating that soil biota mediate microplastic impacts in type-dependent ways.
Impacts of microplastics on agroecosystem multifunctionality: From plant production to soil microbial diversity and functions
A laboratory study added three common types of microplastics — polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene — to maize-soil systems at varying concentrations and measured the cascading effects on crop health and soil ecology. All types of microplastics harmed maize growth and disrupted nutrient cycling, particularly reducing phosphorus availability, though low concentrations sometimes temporarily boosted soil microbial diversity. The findings warn that microplastic buildup in agricultural soils poses a real threat to food production and ecosystem health at the scale plastics are now accumulating.
Meta-analysis reveals differential impacts of microplastics on soil biota
Soil microplastic contamination ranged from 0.34 to over 410,000 items/kg across sites, and their presence significantly increased mortality rates and decreased individual numbers, diversity, and reproduction of soil organisms, though biomass was unaffected due to opposing effects on different organism groups.
Plastic particles and their additives promote plant invasion through physicochemical mechanisms on seed germination
Scientists found that microplastic particles in soil harmed the germination of native European grassland plants, reducing sprouting speed and total germination by up to 30%. Invasive plant species, however, were mostly unaffected by the same microplastic exposure. This suggests that plastic pollution in soil could shift the balance between native and invasive plants, potentially threatening biodiversity.