Papers

20 results
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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

The Importance of Humic Acids in Shaping the Resistance of Soil Microorganisms and the Tolerance of Zea mays to Excess Cadmium in Soil

Researchers assessed whether a humic acid soil amendment (Humus Active) could protect maize from cadmium toxicity by modifying the soil bacterial community structure under heavy metal stress. Humic acid treatment improved soil bacterial diversity and reduced cadmium uptake by maize, suggesting that humic preparations can partially restore soil microbiome function and crop health in cadmium-contaminated agricultural land.

2025 International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Article Tier 2

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.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Coexistence of microplastics and Cd alters soil N transformation by affecting enzyme activity and ammonia oxidizer abundance

Researchers studied how the combined presence of microplastics and cadmium in soil affects nitrogen cycling, a process essential for soil fertility. They found that the pollutant mixture altered enzyme activity and shifted the balance of ammonia-oxidizing microbial communities more than either contaminant alone. The findings suggest that co-contamination of soils with microplastics and heavy metals could disrupt nutrient cycles critical for plant growth.

2023 Environmental Pollution 23 citations
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

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

Individual and Combined Effects of Nanoplastics and Cadmium on the Rhizosphere Bacterial Community of Sedum alfredii Hance

When polystyrene nanoplastics and cadmium co-occur in soil, they act synergistically to disrupt the bacterial community around plant roots (rhizosphere), reducing the diversity of beneficial bacteria by more than what either pollutant does alone. High concentrations of nanoplastics combined with cadmium significantly increased the availability of cadmium in soil by 4%, potentially increasing uptake by plants. This matters for both food safety — since Sedum alfredii is used in phytoremediation of heavy-metal-contaminated sites — and for understanding how combined pollution stresses affect soil health.

2024 Microorganisms 3 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

Characteristics of Rhizosphere Microbiome, Soil Chemical Properties, and Plant Biomass and Nutrients in Citrus reticulata cv. Shatangju Exposed to Increasing Soil Cu Levels

This study characterized rhizosphere microbiome composition, soil chemical properties, and plant biochemistry in relation to soil management practices, finding that treatment type drives distinct rhizosphere microbial communities with functional consequences for plant health.

2024 Plants
Article Tier 2

Diversity and interactions of rhizobacteria determine multinutrient traits in tomato host plants under nitrogen and water disturbances

Researchers investigated how root-associated bacteria help tomato plants maintain nutrient uptake under nitrogen and water stress conditions. They found that microbial diversity and species interactions were key factors in supporting the plant's ability to acquire multiple nutrients simultaneously. While not directly about microplastics, the study advances understanding of soil microbiome dynamics that are relevant to agricultural systems increasingly affected by plastic contamination.

2024 Horticulture Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive effects of microplastics and cadmium on soil properties, microbial communities and bok choy growth

Researchers grew bok choy in soil amended with polyethylene microplastics (0.5-2% by weight) and cadmium to assess interactive effects on soil properties, microbial communities, and plant growth. Combined exposure produced distinct synergistic and antagonistic interactions compared to either pollutant alone, altering soil enzyme activity, bacterial diversity, and plant metal uptake.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and cadmium on the soil-wheat system as single and combined contaminants

Researchers found that polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics combined with cadmium reduced wheat chlorophyll concentrations and affected soil-plant systems differently depending on pollution levels, revealing complex interaction effects between co-contaminants.

2023 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Polylactic acid microplastics inhibit Cd accumulation and growth of Solanum nigrum L.: Insights from microbial communities and metabolomic profiles

Researchers found that polylactic acid microplastics in soil reduced cadmium uptake and inhibited biomass growth in the cadmium hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum, altering soil microbial communities and metabolomic profiles in ways that could impair phytoremediation.

2025 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Effects of combined microplastic and cadmium pollution on sorghum growth, Cd accumulation, and rhizosphere microbial functions

Researchers examined how different types and sizes of microplastics interact with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal, to affect sorghum growth and soil microbes. They found that the combined pollution generally increased plant stress and cadmium uptake, with effects varying by plastic type, particle size, and concentration. The study also revealed that the pollution mixture significantly altered soil bacterial communities and key metabolic pathways involved in nutrient cycling.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 28 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Microplastics Coexisting in Vegetable Soil on the Change of Cadmium Bioavailability].

Researchers investigated the effects of biodegradable microplastics co-occurring with cadmium in vegetable soil through a 60-day pot experiment with lettuce, examining how the combined contamination alters cadmium bioavailability and uptake relative to cadmium-only or microplastic-only conditions.

2025 PubMed
Article Tier 2

Coexistence of microplastics and heavy metals in soil: Occurrence, transport, key interactions and effect on plants

This review examines how microplastics and heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and arsenic interact in soil, often creating combined toxic effects on plants that differ from either pollutant alone. These interactions are relevant to human health because contaminated crops can transfer both microplastics and heavy metals to people through the food supply.

2024 Environmental Research 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Susceptibility of Cd availability in microplastics contaminated paddy soil: Influence of ferric minerals and sulfate reduction

When microplastics and cadmium contaminate paddy soil together — a common situation in agricultural areas — microplastics increase the availability of cadmium to plants, raising the risk of cadmium uptake into food crops like rice. The mechanism involves microplastics releasing dissolved organic matter that disrupts iron mineral cycling and promotes sulfate-reducing bacteria, which in turn mobilize cadmium from soil particles. These findings highlight that microplastic pollution in farmland does not act alone — it can amplify the toxicity of co-occurring heavy metal contaminants.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 11 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

The Effects of Microplastics and Heavy Metals Individually and in Combination on the Growth of Water Spinach (Ipomoea aquatic) and Rhizosphere Microorganisms

Researchers tested how combinations of microplastics and heavy metals (cadmium and lead) affect the growth of water spinach and the microbial communities in its root zone. They found that all three stressors individually inhibited plant growth, and combining microplastics with heavy metals intensified the toxic effects while reducing the availability of essential soil nutrients. The study suggests that microplastic-heavy metal interactions in agricultural soils may pose compounding risks to both crop health and soil ecosystem function.

2025 Agronomy 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable microplastics impact the uptake of Cd in rice: The roles of niche breadth and assembly process

Researchers found that biodegradable microplastics differentially affected cadmium uptake in rice plants, with polypropylene carbonate reducing cadmium accumulation while polylactic acid increased it, driven by changes in soil microbial community assembly and niche breadth.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 33 citations