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20 resultsShowing papers similar to Sub-micron microplastics affect nitrogen cycling by altering microbial abundance and activities in a soil-legume system
ClearPolyethylene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics promote soil nitrification and alter the composition of key nitrogen functional bacterial groups
Researchers found that polyethylene and PVC microplastics in soil increased nitrification (a key step in the nitrogen cycle) and changed the composition of nitrogen-processing bacteria. These changes could affect soil fertility and the availability of nutrients for crops. The study highlights how microplastic contamination in agricultural soil may have hidden effects on food production by altering fundamental soil processes.
Macroplastics in soybean cultivation: Neutral on plant growth but disruptive to nitrogen-fixing microbiome
Researchers studied how larger plastic debris (over 2 centimeters) in agricultural soil affects soybean growth and the nitrogen cycle over a 71-day experiment. While the macroplastics did not visibly affect plant growth, they significantly disrupted nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities and altered soil nitrogen chemistry. The study suggests that even when crop yields appear unaffected, plastic contamination in farmland may be quietly undermining the beneficial soil microorganisms that plants depend on.
Microplastics affect the nitrogen nutrition status of soybean by altering the nitrogen cycle in the rhizosphere soil
Researchers investigated how three types of microplastics — polystyrene, polyethylene, and polyvinyl chloride — affect soybean growth by altering nitrogen cycling in the root-zone soil. They found that polyethylene and polystyrene promoted nitrogen availability and soybean growth, while polyvinyl chloride disrupted the nitrogen cycle, reduced beneficial soil microorganisms, and inhibited plant growth. The study suggests that different types of microplastics can have opposing effects on crop nutrition through their impact on soil microbial communities.
Polyethylene microplastic and soil nitrogen dynamics: Unraveling the links between functional genes, microbial communities, and transformation processes
Researchers conducted a six-month experiment to understand how polyethylene microplastics in soil affect nitrogen cycling, a process critical for soil fertility and plant nutrition. They found that while total nitrogen levels stayed stable, microplastics significantly altered the forms of nitrogen present by increasing ammonium and nitrate while decreasing dissolved organic nitrogen. The study suggests that microplastics reshape soil microbial communities and their nitrogen-processing activities, potentially disrupting the natural nutrient balance in agricultural soils.
Effects of microplastic contamination on soil nitrogen and its bioavailability in soybean-maize rotation system
Researchers conducting a field experiment found that microplastics in agricultural soil disrupt the nitrogen cycle in a soybean-maize rotation system, inhibiting the natural nitrogen fixation that legumes provide and increasing the conversion of ammonium to nitrate — a form more prone to leaching away — raising concerns for long-term soil fertility.
Role of polyamide microplastic in altering microbial consortium and carbon and nitrogen cycles in a simulated agricultural soil microcosm
Researchers added polyamide microplastics to simulated agricultural soil and tracked their effects on microbial communities and nutrient cycling over time. They found that microplastics altered the composition of soil bacteria and disrupted both carbon and nitrogen cycling processes. The study highlights how microplastic contamination in farmland can affect the invisible but essential microbial processes that maintain soil health and fertility.
Microplastics affect soybean rhizosphere microbial composition and function during vegetative and reproductive stages
Researchers conducted a 70-day greenhouse experiment to evaluate how four types of microplastics affect soybean rhizosphere bacterial communities in two soil types. The study found that polyamide microplastics consistently altered bacterial diversity and nitrogen cycling functions, while other plastic types had shorter-term effects, suggesting that different microplastics pose varying risks to agricultural soil microbial ecosystems.
LDPE microplastics affect soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling
Researchers found that adding polyethylene microplastics to soil changed the bacterial communities and disrupted the nitrogen cycle, which is essential for soil fertility and plant growth. Microplastics increased the activity of certain nitrogen-processing genes while decreasing others, shifting the balance of nutrient cycling. These changes in soil function could ultimately affect crop health and the quality of food grown in microplastic-contaminated agricultural land.
Deciphering the response of nodule bacteriome homeostasis in the bulk soil-rhizosphere-root-nodule ecosystem to soil microplastic pollution
Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastic contamination in soil affects the bacterial communities associated with legume plant root nodules. They found that microplastic treatments accelerated nodule formation but disrupted the balance of beneficial nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the nodules. The study suggests that soil microplastic pollution may interfere with the symbiotic relationship between legume crops and their nitrogen-fixing bacterial partners.
Microplastic induces microbial nitrogen limitation further alters microbial nitrogentransformation: Insights from metagenomic analysis
Researchers studied how both conventional and biodegradable microplastics affect nitrogen cycling in soil over 120 days. They found that biodegradable microplastics significantly disrupted microbial nitrogen processes by acting as a carbon source that shifted bacterial communities toward nitrogen-fixing species. The findings suggest that even biodegradable plastics in soil can alter nutrient availability in ways that may affect soil fertility and plant growth.
Nanoplastic alters soybean microbiome across rhizocompartments level and symbiosis via flavonoid-mediated pathways
Researchers applied polypropylene and polyethylene nanoplastics to soybean growing conditions and found that the particles altered soil chemistry, changed bacterial communities, and unexpectedly accelerated root nodule formation and nitrogen-fixing activity at lower doses. The effects varied by plastic type, with polyethylene nanoplastics having a stronger impact on soil enzyme activity. The study reveals that nanoplastic pollution can reshape the soil microbiome and influence how plants form beneficial partnerships with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Assessing the combined impacts of microplastics and nickel oxide nanomaterials on soybean growth and nitrogen fixation potential
This study tested how polystyrene microplastics and nickel oxide nanoparticles affect soybean growth and nitrogen fixation in soil. Microplastics alone reduced photosynthesis, plant hormones, and the beneficial root bacteria that help plants capture nitrogen from the air. While this is a plant and soil study, it demonstrates how microplastics can disrupt agricultural ecosystems that humans depend on for food production.
Microplastics reduce nitrogen uptake in peanut plants by damaging root cells and impairing soil nitrogen cycling
Researchers found that microplastics reduce nitrogen uptake in peanut plants by damaging root cells and impairing soil nitrogen cycling, with polypropylene and rubber crumb particles at high concentrations inhibiting plant growth and disrupting the soil-plant nitrogen system.
Effects of polyethylene microplastics and cadmium co-contamination on the soybean-soil system: Integrated metabolic and rhizosphere microbial mechanisms
Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics and cadmium interact in soybean-soil systems and found that specific microplastic concentrations enhanced cadmium accumulation in roots under moderate contamination. Higher microplastic levels reduced beneficial soil bacteria like Sphingomonas and Bradyrhizobium and suppressed nitrogen-cycling functions. The study demonstrates that microplastics fundamentally alter heavy metal behavior through interconnected plant-metabolite-microbe interactions in agricultural soils.
Microplastics affect C, N, and P cycling in natural environments: Highlighting the driver of soil hydraulic properties
This study found that common microplastics like polyethylene and polypropylene significantly change how soil handles water and nutrients by increasing water content, reducing soil density, and altering bacterial communities involved in nitrogen and carbon cycling. These changes affected how nutrients are stored in soil, with increases of 12 to 93 percent in nitrogen and carbon storage depending on the plastic type and amount. The findings suggest microplastic pollution could disrupt the fundamental soil processes that support food production.
Differential impacts of polyethylene microplastic and additives on soil nitrogen cycling: A deeper dive into microbial interactions and transformation mechanisms
This study tested how polyethylene microplastics, their base resin, and plastic additives each affect nitrogen cycling in soil -- a process essential for plant growth. All three altered the soil's nitrogen balance and microbial communities in different ways, with microplastics increasing certain nitrogen transformation rates the most. These findings matter because disrupted nitrogen cycling in farmland could affect crop nutrition and ultimately the quality of food humans eat.
Microplastic pollution on the soil and its consequences on the nitrogen cycle: a review
This review examines microplastic pollution impacts on soil nitrogen cycling, finding that microplastics alter soil structure, serve as novel microbial colonization surfaces, and affect the microbial communities responsible for nitrogen fixation, nitrification, and denitrification.
Microplastics affect organic nitrogen in sediment: The response of organic nitrogen mineralization to microbes and benthic animals
Researchers investigated how different types of microplastics affect organic nitrogen cycling in sediments, measuring the responses of key nitrogen-transforming microorganisms. They found microplastics alter the composition of organic nitrogen and suppress certain nitrogen cycling processes.
Key factors and mechanisms of microplastics’ effects on soil nitrogen transformation: A review
This review systematically analyzed how microplastics affect nitrogen transformation processes in soil. Researchers found that the size, shape, concentration, and polymer type of microplastics all influence soil nitrogen cycling through changes to microbial communities, soil structure, and enzyme activity. The study identifies key knowledge gaps and recommends standardized research approaches to better predict how microplastic pollution will alter soil nutrient dynamics.
Biodegradable microplastics-induced free-living nitrogen fixation enhancement and diazotrophic community differentiation in soils
Scientists found that tiny pieces of biodegradable plastic in farm soil actually boost the activity of helpful bacteria that add nitrogen to the soil, which plants need to grow. However, these same plastic pieces also reduce other important nutrients in the soil and change which types of bacteria live there. This matters because as farmers use more biodegradable plastics, we need to understand how the tiny plastic pieces left behind might affect our food production and soil health.