Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Biochar alters chemical and microbial properties of microplastic-contaminated soil

Researchers found that biochar amendments improved chemical and microbial properties of microplastic-contaminated soil, with effects varying by biochar type and water conditions, suggesting biochar as a potential remediation tool for plastic-polluted agricultural soils.

2022 Environmental Research 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effect of biochar and soil moisture on soil chemical properties and microbial community composition in microplastic‐contaminated agricultural soil

Biochar was applied to microplastic-contaminated agricultural soil under different moisture conditions, with results showing that biochar improved soil chemical properties and shifted microbial communities in ways that partially offset microplastic-induced degradation. The study suggests biochar as a practical soil amendment to mitigate microplastic impacts in farming systems.

2022 Soil Use and Management 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar alleviated the toxic effects of PVC microplastic in a soil-plant system by upregulating soil enzyme activities and microbial abundance

Researchers tested whether adding biochar to soil could reduce the harmful effects of PVC microplastic contamination on plant growth and soil health. They found that biochar amendment increased plant biomass, restored soil enzyme activity, and boosted beneficial microbial populations that had been suppressed by the microplastics. The study suggests that biochar could serve as a practical tool for rehabilitating agricultural soils contaminated with plastic particles.

2023 Environmental Pollution 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the potential of biochar for the remediation of microbial communities and element cycling in microplastic-contaminated soil

Scientists found that adding biochar (a charcoal-like material made from plant waste) to soil contaminated with microplastics helped restore healthy microbial communities and nutrient cycling. The biochar reversed negative effects that microplastics had on soil chemistry, including nitrogen and phosphorus availability. This suggests biochar could be a practical tool for repairing farmland damaged by microplastic pollution.

2024 Chemosphere 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar-mediated remediation of low-density polyethylene microplastic-polluted soil-plant systems: Role of phosphorus and protist community responses

Researchers found that adding biochar (a charcoal-like soil additive) to soil contaminated with microplastics helped improve plant growth by restoring phosphorus cycling. The microplastics disrupted soil microbe communities, but biochar treatment shifted these communities in beneficial ways. This suggests biochar could be a practical tool for farming in soils contaminated with plastic pollution.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar Influences Polyethylene Microplastic-Contaminated Soil Properties and Enzyme Activities

This study examined how biochar additions modify the properties of polyethylene microplastic-contaminated soil and affect plant growth, finding that biochar partially mitigated microplastic-induced soil degradation and improved plant performance. Biochar shows promise as a low-cost soil amendment to counteract microplastic impacts.

2024 Agronomy 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar Mitigates the Negative Effects of Microplastics on Sugarcane Growth by Altering Soil Nutrients and Microbial Community Structure and Function

Microplastic contamination in sugarcane-growing soils in China reduces crop biomass and degrades soil nutrients and microbial diversity. Adding biochar to microplastic-polluted soil helped offset these harms — restoring sugarcane growth, stabilizing soil pH, and improving bacterial community richness. The findings suggest biochar is a practical tool for rehabilitating agricultural land affected by plastic pollution.

2023 Plants 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential Effect of Biochar on Soil Properties, Microbial Activity and Vicia faba Properties Affected by Microplastics Contamination

Researchers found that microplastic contamination significantly altered soil properties and reduced Vicia faba plant growth and microbial activity, while biochar amendment at 2% effectively mitigated these adverse effects.

2023 Agronomy 36 citations
Article Tier 2

[Effects of Biochar Application on Physicochemical Properties and Bacterial Communities of Microplastic-contaminated Calcareous Soil].

Researchers conducted a 21-day micro-soil culture experiment to assess the effects of biochar amendment on physicochemical properties and bacterial communities in calcareous soil contaminated with microplastics, using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing. Biochar slowed decreases in nitrate nitrogen and Olsen-P in microplastic-contaminated soil and increased the relative abundance of stress-tolerant phyla including Acidobacteriota, Actinobacteriota, and Bacteroidota.

2023 PubMed 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Mitigating microplastic stress on peanuts: The role of biochar-based synthetic community in the preservation of soil physicochemical properties and microbial diversity

Researchers found that tire-derived microplastics in soil harmed peanut plant growth and disrupted soil bacteria, but adding biochar with a specially designed bacterial community helped counteract the damage. The biochar treatment restored soil health, improved microbial diversity, and boosted peanut growth even in microplastic-contaminated soil. This approach could help protect food crops from the harmful effects of microplastic pollution in agricultural land.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar Mitigates the Negative Effects of Microplastics on Sugarcane Growth by Changing Soil Nutrients and Microbial Community Structure and Function

Researchers investigated the effects of microplastics with and without biochar amendment on sugarcane growth, soil biochemical properties, and microbial community structure in red soil using a potted experiment, finding that microplastics alone reduced dry biomass, soil pH, and nitrogen and phosphorus contents and decreased bacterial diversity. Biochar addition mitigated the negative effects of microplastics by improving soil nutrients and reshaping microbial community structure and function.

2023 Preprints.org 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Bacterial-charged biochar enhances plant growth and mitigates microplastic toxicity by altering microbial communities and soil metabolism

Researchers tested whether adding bacteria and biochar (a charcoal-like material) to microplastic-contaminated paddy soil could help rice plants recover, finding that the combined treatment increased shoot weight by over 100% and dramatically improved nutrient uptake genes. The treatment also enriched beneficial soil microbes and reduced oxidative stress in rice, offering a promising strategy for restoring agricultural soils polluted with microplastics.

2025 Plant Stress 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of incorporating biochar on soil quality and barley yield in microplastics-contaminated soils

This study tested whether adding biochar to microplastic-contaminated soil could improve soil quality and crop performance. Researchers found that biochar application helped offset some of the negative effects of microplastics on soil properties and boosted barley yields even under drought conditions. The results suggest biochar could be a practical tool for managing farmland affected by plastic pollution.

2024 Chemosphere 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar counteracts the negative effects of microplastics on physiological and biochemical characteristics and leaf metabolism in Zea mays L

Researchers studied whether biochar could counteract the harmful effects of microplastics on maize plant growth and soil health. They found that adding biochar to microplastic-contaminated soil restored antioxidant enzyme balance, improved beneficial metabolic pathways in leaves, and increased bacterial community diversity. The study suggests biochar may help plants resist microplastic-induced stress by boosting glucose metabolism in root systems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar relieves the toxic effects of microplastics on the root-rhizosphere soil system by altering root expression profiles and microbial diversity and functions

Researchers found that adding biochar (a charcoal-like soil amendment) to soil contaminated with polystyrene microplastics helped peanut plants recover by boosting their antioxidant defenses and restoring beneficial soil bacteria. This suggests biochar could be a practical tool for protecting crops in microplastic-contaminated farmland, which matters for food safety and reducing the amount of microplastics that enter the human food chain.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 46 citations
Article Tier 2

Influence of polyethylene terephthalate microplastic and biochar co-existence on paddy soil bacterial community structure and greenhouse gas emission

Researchers studied how polyethylene terephthalate microplastics and biochar, both common in agricultural soils, affect soil bacteria and greenhouse gas emissions during rice cultivation. They found that microplastics alone reduced bacterial diversity, but adding biochar alongside the microplastics partially restored microbial communities and altered gas emissions. The study suggests that biochar may help mitigate some of the negative soil health effects of microplastic contamination in paddy fields.

2021 Environmental Pollution 135 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar and organic fertilizer applications enhance soil functional microbial abundance and agroecosystem multifunctionality

A long-term field study found that adding biochar (a charcoal-like material) and organic fertilizer to farm soil significantly boosted beneficial soil microbes involved in nutrient cycling and improved overall ecosystem health by up to 30%. While not directly about microplastics, biochar has been shown in other studies to bind microplastics and reduce their movement through soil, making this approach potentially beneficial for both soil productivity and microplastic mitigation on farms.

2024 Biochar 143 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar mitigates microplastic‐induced destabilization of soil organic carbon via molecular recalcitrance and microbial process regulation

Biochar amendments to soil were shown to offset the destabilizing effects that microplastics have on soil aggregate structure. The finding suggests that biochar could be a practical soil amendment to counteract microplastic-driven soil degradation in contaminated agricultural lands.

2025 Functional Ecology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic contamination of coastal hill soils: Perspective of Rohingya Refugee camps in Bangladesh

This study examined whether biochar amendments could mitigate the toxic effects of microplastics on soil bacteria and earthworms. Biochar partially alleviated microplastic-induced oxidative stress and improved soil microbial diversity under co-contamination conditions.

2022 Soil and Sediment Contamination An International Journal 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Applications of biochar in the remediation of soil microplastic pollution: A review

Researchers reviewed the use of biochar as a tool for remediating microplastic-contaminated soil. The study found that biochar application shows promise for addressing soil microplastic pollution by altering soil properties in ways that can reduce microplastic mobility and mitigate their negative effects on soil structure, plant growth, and biogeochemical cycling.

2025 Soil Science Society of America Journal 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Stress of polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics on pakchoi(Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis) and soil bacteria: Biochar mitigation

Researchers compared the effects of conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics on pakchoi (a leafy vegetable) and found that both types harmed plant growth and disrupted soil bacteria. Adding biochar to the soil helped reduce these negative effects, suggesting it could be a practical way to protect crops from microplastic contamination in agricultural settings.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of biodegradable microplastics coexistence with biochars produced at low and high temperatures on bacterial community structure and phenanthrene degradation in soil

Researchers investigated how biodegradable microplastics interact with biochar in soil to affect bacterial communities and pollutant degradation. The study found that the coexistence of PBAT microplastics and biochar significantly altered soil microbial structure and influenced the degradation of phenanthrene, suggesting complex interactions between these increasingly common soil amendments.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 11 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of bulk-biochar and nano-biochar amendment on the removal of antibiotic resistance genes in microplastic contaminated soil

Researchers tested whether bulk-biochar and nano-biochar amendments could reduce antibiotic resistance genes in microplastic-contaminated soil. They found that microplastics initially increased the abundance of resistance genes, but both biochar types effectively inhibited their spread regardless of microplastic presence. The study suggests that biochar amendment is a promising strategy for managing antibiotic resistance in soils co-contaminated with microplastics.

2023 Environmental Research 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar's Effects and Operations on Microbial Life within the Soil Ecosystem- A Review

Not directly relevant to microplastics — this review examines how biochar additions to soil affect microbial community structure, enzymatic activity, and contaminant transformation, without a specific focus on microplastics.

2023 International Journal of Plant & Soil Science