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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to A Systematic Review on Earthworms in Soil Bioremediation
ClearMicroplastics in Agricultural Soil: Fate, Impacts, and Bioremediation by Earthworms
This review examines how microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils and the role earthworms may play in breaking them down. Researchers found that microplastics can harm soil health by disrupting microbial communities, enzyme activity, and nutrient availability, but that earthworms can enhance microplastic degradation through their digestive processes and the microorganisms in their gut. The study suggests that earthworm-based bioremediation could be a practical strategy for reducing microplastic contamination in farmland.
Earthworms As An Emerging Biotechnological Intervention in the Mitigation of Microplastics
This review explores the emerging role of earthworms as biological agents for degrading microplastics in soil environments. Researchers found that earthworm gut microflora and mucous secretions actively contribute to breaking down plastic polymers through enzymatic depolymerization. The study suggests that earthworm-mediated biodegradation could be a promising biotechnological approach for mitigating microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems.
Bioremediation of soil microplastics: the role of microbial and earthworm activity
This review of 150 studies found that tiny plastic particles in soil can be naturally broken down by soil microbes and earthworms working together, with earthworms reducing some plastics by up to 60%. The research shows that certain plastic types like shopping bags and food containers are harder to break down than others, and that healthy soil with diverse microbes and earthworms is better at cleaning up plastic pollution. This matters because microplastics in soil can eventually end up in our food and water, so understanding how nature breaks them down could help us develop better ways to reduce plastic pollution in the environment.
Microplastic-Earthworm Interactions: A Critical Review
This critical review examines how microplastics from diverse plastic waste categories accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and interact with earthworms, a key soil organism. The authors synthesize evidence on the deleterious effects of increasing microplastic concentrations on soil properties, microbiota, and earthworm physiology.
Earthworm-Microplastic Interactions: Revealing the Feasibility and Obstacles of Utilizing Earthworms to Maintain the Health of Microplastic-Contaminated Soils
Scientists reviewed existing research and found that earthworms might help clean up tiny plastic pieces (called microplastics) in farm soil by breaking them down in their stomachs and through helpful bacteria in their guts. This matters because microplastics in soil can harm the food we grow, but using earthworms as natural cleaners faces major challenges and needs much more research before it could actually work on farms. The earthworm method shows promise but isn't ready to solve our plastic pollution problem yet.
Ecological adaptation of earthworms for coping with plant polyphenols, heavy metals, and microplastics in the soil: A review
This review examines how earthworms cope with and help remediate soil pollutants including heavy metals, microplastics, and plant polyphenols. Researchers describe how earthworms use specialized gut metabolites and elevated antioxidant enzyme activity to neutralize toxic compounds, and can serve as biofilters that accumulate and transform these pollutants. The findings support the wider use of earthworm-based bioremediation as a strategy for restoring contaminated soils.
Vermicomposting as a potential strategy for microplastic reduction in organic waste: mini review
This review evaluates vermicomposting as a biological approach for reducing microplastic contamination in organic waste streams. Researchers found evidence that earthworms can physically fragment and partially break down certain types of microplastics during the composting process, though effects on earthworm health vary by plastic type and concentration. The study suggests that vermicomposting shows promise as a strategy for mitigating microplastic contamination in compost, but more research is needed on long-term impacts.
Fragmentation and depolymerization of microplastics in the earthworm gut: A potential for microplastic bioremediation?
Researchers explored whether earthworms can break down microplastics in soil by passing them through their digestive systems. They found that earthworms fragmented and partially broke down polyethylene and biodegradable plastic particles, reducing their size and altering their chemical structure. This suggests earthworms could play a role in naturally reducing microplastic contamination in soil, though more research is needed to understand whether the smaller fragments pose their own risks.
Earthworm-microbiome interactions: Unlocking next-generation bioindicators and bioengineered solutions for soil and environmental health
This review explores how earthworms and their associated microbiomes can serve as bioindicators of soil contamination from pollutants including microplastics. Changes in earthworm gut microbial communities can act as early warning signals of soil pollution, and engineered earthworm-microbiome systems show potential for environmental remediation. The study suggests that understanding these biological interactions could lead to new biomonitoring tools for assessing microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems.
Potential Use of Earthworms to Enhance Decaying of Biodegradable Plastics
Researchers examined the potential of earthworms to accelerate the biodegradation of both conventional and biobased biodegradable plastics in soil, finding that earthworm activity can enhance the physical fragmentation and microbial degradation of some polymers, though effectiveness varies significantly by polymer type. The study suggests earthworm-assisted composting as a partial strategy to reduce agricultural plastic pollution.
Impact of Vermicomposting with Soil Enriched with Plastic and Different Biodegradable Wastes on Physical, Chemical, and Biological Parameters of Soil
Researchers examined the impact of vermicomposting on soil enriched with conventional and biodegradable plastics, measuring how earthworm activity altered plastic fragmentation and soil properties. Results showed that vermicomposting accelerated the breakdown of some plastic types while earthworms ingested plastic particles, potentially dispersing them through the soil profile.
Earthworm Casting Drives Soil Microplastic Upward Transport and the Formation of Biogenic Polymer Aggregates
Scientists found that earthworms are moving tiny plastic particles (microplastics) from deeper soil up to the surface, where crops grow, and breaking them into even smaller pieces in the process. The earthworms also create conditions that help beneficial bacteria break down these plastics over time. This matters because it could affect how much plastic contamination gets into our food supply, though more research is needed to understand the full health implications.
Current research trends on plastic pollution and ecological impacts on the soil ecosystem: A review
This review examines the current state of research on plastic pollution in soil ecosystems, an area that has received far less attention than marine plastic contamination. Researchers found that agricultural practices, sewage sludge application, and plastic mulch use are major sources of soil microplastic pollution, with earthworms being the most commonly studied organisms for assessing ecological impacts. The study calls for more research into how microplastics affect soil biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and long-term soil health.
Synergistic Effects of Earthworms and Plants on Chromium Removal from Acidic and Alkaline Soils: Biological Responses and Implications
Not relevant to microplastics — this study examines how earthworms and plants work together to remove chromium from contaminated soils, testing bioremediation effectiveness across different soil acidities and pollution levels.
Enhancing the biodegradability and environmental impact of microplastics utilizing Eisenia fetida earthworms with treated low-density polyethylene for sustainable plastic management
Researchers used Eisenia fetida earthworms to improve the biodegradability of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) microplastics in soil, testing whether earthworm-mediated soil processing could enhance the breakdown of this persistent polymer. Earthworm activity increased LDPE fragmentation and promoted microbial colonization of plastic surfaces, suggesting vermicomposting as a strategy for managing soil plastic contamination.
A Systematic Review of Nano- and Microplastic (NMP) Influence on the Bioaccumulation of Environmental Contaminants: Part I—Soil Organisms
This systematic review investigates whether microplastics and nanoplastics help other environmental contaminants like heavy metals and pesticides accumulate in soil organisms. The research finds that the presence of plastic particles can change how much of these pollutants earthworms and other soil creatures absorb. This matters because contaminants that build up in soil organisms can eventually work their way into the food we grow and eat.
Earthworm activity effectively mitigated the negative impact of microplastics on maize growth
Researchers investigated whether earthworms could help reduce the harmful effects of microplastic contamination on soil and crop growth. They found that earthworm activity increased soil nutrient content, boosted microbial diversity, and promoted maize growth even in microplastic-polluted soil. The study suggests that earthworms may serve as a natural tool for managing agricultural soils contaminated with plastic particles.
Microplastics and earthworms in soils: A case study on translocation, toxicity and fate
This conference abstract presents research on how earthworms in agricultural soils interact with microplastics, examining whether worms translocate particles deeper into soil, experience toxic effects, and alter the fate of microplastic contamination. Earthworms are key soil engineers, and their exposure to microplastics could have cascading effects on soil health.
Current Research Trends on the Effects of Microplastics in Soil Environment Using Earthworms: Mini-Review
This mini-review summarizes current research on how microplastics affect earthworms in soil environments, covering effects on growth, reproduction, gut microbiota, and soil physicochemical properties.
Potential strategies for bioremediation of microplastic contaminated soil
Researchers reviewed emerging bioremediation strategies for removing microplastics from contaminated soil, highlighting the roles of plants, root-zone microbes, soil animals like earthworms, and specialized bacteria and fungi that can use enzymes to break down plastic polymers into harmless compounds. While genetic engineering of microbes shows promise for accelerating degradation, the review notes that real-world application at scale still requires significant research and development.
Bioindicators of the impacts by microplastics in soil: A Systematic Review : a systematic review
This systematic review identifies organisms that can serve as bioindicators — living warning signs — for microplastic contamination in soil. Certain earthworms, springtails, and other soil creatures show measurable changes when exposed to microplastics, making them useful tools for monitoring pollution levels. Using these natural indicators could help farmers and environmental managers detect microplastic problems before they worsen.
Soil and Sediment Organisms as Bioindicators of Pollution
This review examines how soil organisms like earthworms, insects, and microbes can serve as living indicators of pollution, including contamination from microplastics and heavy metals. Changes in these organisms' behavior, reproduction, or survival can reveal pollution levels that chemical tests alone might miss. The approach is relevant to microplastic research because it provides practical tools for assessing how microplastic contamination in soil affects the ecosystems that support agriculture and food production.
Implication of microplastics on soil faunal communities — identifying gaps of knowledge
This systematic review examines how microplastics in soil affect earthworms, springtails, mites, and other soil-dwelling creatures that are essential for healthy soil. The impacts are highly variable and depend on the type of plastic, particle size, and soil conditions, making broad conclusions difficult. The review identifies critical knowledge gaps, noting that most studies use unrealistically high microplastic concentrations, and calls for research at levels that match actual field conditions.
Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms
Researchers demonstrated that earthworms can transport microplastic particles from the soil surface deeper into the ground, with smaller particles being moved to greater depths. Using the common earthworm Lumbricus terrestris in greenhouse experiments, they showed that worm activity significantly increased the presence of microplastics in lower soil layers. The findings suggest that earthworms play an important role in burying microplastics in soil, potentially affecting other soil organisms and groundwater.