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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Nonlinear microbial nutrient limitation responses to biodegradable vs. conventional microplastics under long-term agricultural management
ClearDistinct influence of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on microbe-driving nitrogen cycling processes in soils and plastispheres as evaluated by metagenomic analysis
Researchers compared how conventional polyethylene and biodegradable microplastics affect nitrogen cycling by soil microbes. They found that biodegradable microplastics caused stronger changes to microbial communities and nitrogen processing pathways than conventional plastics, particularly by enriching certain bacteria on their surfaces. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastic mulch alternatives may significantly alter soil nutrient cycling in agricultural settings.
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.
Microbes drive metabolism, community diversity, and interactions in response to microplastic-induced nutrient imbalance
Researchers investigated how conventional and biodegradable microplastics alter soil nutrient balances and the resulting effects on microbial metabolism, community diversity, and species interactions. The study found that microplastic-induced nutrient imbalances significantly influenced soil microbial processes, with different types of microplastics producing distinct effects on carbon and nitrogen cycling.
Deciphering the effects of long-term exposure to conventional and biodegradable microplastics on the soil microbiome
This study compared how conventional and biodegradable microplastics affect soil microbes over long time periods and found that both types significantly changed soil microbial communities and disrupted carbon and nitrogen cycling after extended exposure. Biodegradable plastics, often marketed as eco-friendly, actually released more chemical byproducts than conventional plastics, which matters because these soil changes can affect the food we grow.
Insights into soil microbial assemblages and nitrogen cycling function responses to conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Researchers compared how biodegradable polylactic acid and conventional PVC microplastics affect soil bacteria and nitrogen cycling processes. They found that both types of microplastics altered microbial communities, but biodegradable plastics had distinct effects on nitrogen-processing bacteria and did not simply behave as a harmless alternative. The study suggests that switching to biodegradable plastics may change rather than eliminate the impact of microplastic contamination on soil health.
Differential responses of soil microbial community structure and function to conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Scientists compared how tiny pieces of regular plastics and "biodegradable" plastics affect helpful bacteria in soil after 6 months. They found that biodegradable plastics actually disrupted soil bacteria more than regular plastics, changing the microbes that help plants grow and cycle nutrients. This matters because these soil bacteria are crucial for growing healthy food, so switching to biodegradable plastics might not be the simple environmental solution we hoped for.
Multi-omics reveals different impact patterns of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on the crop rhizosphere in a biofertilizer environment
Researchers used advanced multi-omics techniques to compare how conventional polyethylene microplastics and biodegradable plastic microplastics affect the root zone of crops grown with biofertilizer. They found that both types disrupted the soil microbial community, but through different mechanisms, with biodegradable plastics unexpectedly causing more changes to the bacterial community structure. The study suggests that even biodegradable agricultural plastics may interfere with the effectiveness of biofertilizers in soil.
Effect of different polymers of microplastics on soil organic carbon and nitrogen – A mesocosm experiment
Researchers found that adding polyethylene and biodegradable microplastics to agricultural soil altered carbon and nitrogen dynamics, with biodegradable microplastics having stronger effects on soil organic carbon decomposition and nutrient cycling than conventional plastics.
Conventional and Biodegradable Microplastics Both Impair Soil Phosphorus Cycling and Availability via Microbial Suppression
Researchers conducted a 150-day experiment comparing the effects of conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics on soil phosphorus cycling. Both types of microplastics reduced available phosphorus by approximately 15% and suppressed key phosphorus-cycling bacteria and enzyme activity. The findings challenge the assumption that biodegradable plastics are environmentally benign, showing they disrupt soil nutrient cycles similarly to conventional plastics.
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.
Microbial degradation of bioplastic (PHBV) is limited by nutrient availability at high microplastic loadings
Researchers found that the degradation of the biodegradable plastic PHBV in soil becomes limited by nutrient availability when microplastic concentrations are high. Using pyrolysis GC-MS to quantify degradation, they observed that soil hydrophobicity increased while plant growth and soil microbial biomass decreased at higher microplastic loadings. The study suggests that even biodegradable plastics can negatively affect soil health when present in large quantities.
The Structural and Functional Responses of Rhizosphere Bacteria to Biodegradable Microplastics in the Presence of Biofertilizers
Researchers studied how biodegradable microplastics interact with biofertilizers in crop soils and found that even though biodegradable plastics are designed as greener alternatives, they still significantly altered soil bacterial communities and disrupted carbon metabolism pathways. The findings suggest that biodegradable microplastics may affect soil health differently than conventional plastics, but are not necessarily harmless.
Unraveling consequences of soil micro- and nano-plastic pollution on soil-plant system: Implications for nitrogen (N) cycling and soil microbial activity
This review examines how micro- and nano-plastics affect soil microbial activity and nitrogen cycling in agricultural ecosystems, finding mixed effects that depend on polymer type and size. The authors highlight concerns about biodegradable plastics posing greater risks to plant growth than conventional plastics, complicating the assumption that biodegradable options are always safer.
Soil nutrient levels regulate the effect of soil microplastic contamination on microbial element metabolism and carbon use efficiency
Researchers conducted greenhouse experiments to examine how different types of microplastics in soil affect microbial nutrient metabolism and carbon use efficiency. They found that degradable polylactic acid microplastics stimulated microbial activity differently than non-degradable polyethylene, and that soil nutrient levels played a key role in regulating these effects. The study suggests that understanding the interaction between microplastics and soil nutrients is critical for predicting impacts on soil carbon cycling.
ConventionalandBiodegradable Microplastics BothImpair Soil Phosphorus Cycling and Availability via Microbial Suppression
This 150-day soil incubation study compared how conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics affect microbially-mediated phosphorus cycling. Both MP types suppressed phosphorus-cycling microbial activity, reducing soil phosphorus availability — with biodegradable PLA showing comparable disruption to conventional PE.
Biodegradable and conventional microplastics exhibit distinct microbiome, functionality, and metabolome changes in soil
Researchers compared the effects of conventional plastics (polyethylene and polystyrene) and biodegradable plastics (polylactide and polybutylene succinate) on soil microbial communities. They found that both types of microplastics significantly altered soil microbial composition, but biodegradable microplastics had a more pronounced impact on soil metabolic function and microbial activity than conventional ones.
LDPE and biodegradable PLA-PBAT plastics differentially affect plant-soil nitrogen partitioning and dynamics in a Hordeum vulgare mesocosm
Researchers compared how conventional LDPE plastic and biodegradable PLA-PBAT plastic affect nitrogen cycling in soil where barley was growing. LDPE microplastics reduced the amount of fertilizer nitrogen taken up by plants and increased nitrogen lost through leaching, while biodegradable plastics boosted microbial activity in the soil. The study shows that different types of plastic pollution affect soil nutrient cycles in different ways, which could influence both crop nutrition and groundwater contamination.
LDPE and biodegradable plastics differentially affect plant-soil nitrogen partitioning and microbial uptake
Researchers found that both conventional LDPE and biodegradable plastics at concentrations simulating years of mulch film use altered nitrogen cycling in agricultural soil, reducing microbial nitrogen uptake and affecting nitrogen partitioning between soil and plant biomass without significantly harming barley growth.
Unravelling the ecological ramifications of biodegradable microplastics in soil environment: A systematic review
Researchers reviewed 85 studies on biodegradable microplastics in soil, finding that when biodegradable plastics fail to fully break down they can disrupt soil structure, nutrient cycling, and microbial life in ways that depend heavily on concentration and plastic type. The review highlights that "biodegradable" plastics are not a simple fix for microplastic pollution in agricultural soils.
Effect of conventional and biodegradable microplastics on the soil-soybean system: A perspective on rhizosphere microbial community and soil element cycling
This study compared how conventional polyethylene microplastics and biodegradable alternatives (PBAT and PLA) affect soil bacteria and nutrient cycling in soybean fields. The biodegradable microplastics actually caused more harm to soybean growth than conventional ones, reducing shoot biomass by up to 34% and disrupting nitrogen availability in soil. This challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are always better for the environment and raises questions about their impact on agricultural productivity and food security.
Discrepant soil microbial community and C cycling function responses to conventional and biodegradable microplastics
Scientists compared how conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics affect soil microbial communities and carbon cycling. Researchers found that the two types of microplastics had markedly different effects, with biodegradable plastics causing more changes to microbial community structure and carbon-related gene activity. The study suggests that biodegradable plastics, while designed to be more environmentally friendly, may still significantly alter soil biology.
Microbial metabolism influences microplastic perturbation of dissolved organic matter in agricultural soils
Researchers studied how microplastics from both traditional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid plastics change the chemistry of dissolved organic matter in farm soil. Soil microbes broke down substances released by the plastics, altering the soil's chemical composition over 100 days. Surprisingly, the biodegradable plastic released compounds that soil bacteria could more readily use, and after aging, it had roughly 10 times the pollutant-absorbing capacity of polyethylene, suggesting that so-called biodegradable plastics may pose their own environmental risks in agricultural soil.
The plastisphere of biodegradable and conventional microplastics from residues exhibit distinct microbial structure, network and function in plastic-mulching farmland
Researchers compared the bacterial communities that colonize biodegradable and conventional plastic microplastics in farmland soil. They found that biodegradable plastics (PBAT/PLA) and conventional polyethylene each attracted distinct microbial communities with different functions, including bacteria that could degrade plastics or cycle nutrients. The results suggest that even biodegradable plastics create unique microbial environments in soil that may affect soil health and function in unexpected ways.
Biodegradable microplastics decreased plant-derived and increased microbial-derived carbon formation in soil: a two-year field trial
A two-year field experiment compared the effects of conventional (polypropylene) and biodegradable (polylactic acid, PLA) microplastics on soil carbon cycling in agricultural soil. Researchers found that while neither plastic type changed total soil carbon levels, PLA microplastics significantly reduced plant-derived carbon (lignin) by 32% while boosting microbial-derived carbon, suggesting that "biodegradable" plastics still meaningfully alter soil biology and chemistry. This matters because it challenges the assumption that biodegradable plastics are environmentally benign once they break down in farmland.