Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics increase soil microbial network complexity and trigger diversity-driven community assembly

Researchers found that microplastics in soil increased bacterial network complexity and shifted microbial community assembly in a diversity-dependent manner, with high-density polyethylene causing more harm to plant growth than polystyrene or polylactic acid particles.

2023 Environmental Pollution 49 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic particles alter wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function

Researchers found that microplastic particles altered wheat rhizosphere soil microbial community composition and function, with different polymer types inducing distinct shifts in bacterial diversity and nutrient cycling processes.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities under contrasting soil environments

Researchers compared microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities across contrasting soil environments, finding that the type of microplastic polymer and soil conditions together determine whether microbial activity and carbon cycling are stimulated or suppressed.

2024
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on soil microbiome: The impacts of polymer type, shape, and concentration

Researchers examined how different microplastic polymer types, shapes, and concentrations affected soil bacterial communities, finding that these physical characteristics induced distinct shifts in soil microbiome composition and diversity.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 215 citations
Article Tier 2

Legacy effect of microplastics on plant–soil feedbacks

Researchers examined the legacy effects of microplastic contamination on plant-soil feedbacks using soil previously conditioned with various microplastic types, finding that residual microplastics altered soil microbial communities and nutrient cycling in ways that affected subsequent plant growth.

2022 Frontiers in Plant Science 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Investigation of Soil-Dwelling Bacterial Community Changes Induced by Microplastic Ex posure Using Amplicon Sequencing

Researchers analyzed soil bacterial community composition after microplastic contamination, finding that different polymer types caused distinct shifts in microbial diversity and functional groups, with implications for soil nutrient cycling and agricultural productivity.

2025 Korean Science Education Society for the Gifted
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics alter soil microbial community assembly and ecosystem multifunctionality

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics at different concentrations affect soil microbial communities and overall ecosystem function in a maize growing system. They found that higher concentrations of microplastics shifted microbial community composition, reduced beneficial bacteria involved in nutrient cycling, and impaired multiple soil ecosystem functions simultaneously. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils can undermine the biological processes that support healthy crop growth.

2023 Environment International 114 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polyethylene microplastics on the microbial community structure of maize rhizosphere soil

Researchers investigated how polyethylene microplastics from agricultural films affect the microbial communities in crop root zones (rhizosphere), finding shifts in bacterial diversity and function. Disrupting soil microbiomes through microplastic contamination could have downstream effects on soil fertility and crop health.

2021 中国生态农业学报 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic residues in wetland ecosystems: Do they truly threaten the plant-microbe-soil system?

Researchers used a controlled pot experiment to assess microplastic effects on wetland plant growth, soil microbial communities, and nutrient cycling, finding that MPs altered soil enzyme activity and shifted bacterial community composition but had variable effects on plant growth depending on plastic type.

2021 Environment International 238 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential impacts of polyethylene microplastics and heavy metals on Bidens pilosa L. growth: Shifts in root-associated endophyte microbial communities

Researchers found that polyethylene microplastics in soil contaminated with heavy metals significantly stunted plant growth, reducing root length by nearly 49% and increasing harmful reactive oxygen species in plant tissues. The microplastics also shifted the soil's microbial communities toward stress-resistant species, demonstrating how plastic pollution can disrupt the soil ecosystem that supports our food supply.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil microbial community parameters affected by microplastics and other plastic residues

Researchers conducted a meta-analysis examining how plastic residues, including microplastics, affect soil microbial communities. The study found that plastics accelerated soil organic carbon loss and reduced microbial biomass overall, with effects varying by polymer type: polyethylene decreased microbial richness while polypropylene increased it, and the impact on microbial activity followed a dose-response pattern with a turning point around 40 grams per kilogram of soil.

2023 Frontiers in Microbiology 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Time-dependent effects of microplastics on soil bacteriome

Researchers studied how six common types of microplastics affect soil bacteria over time at realistic contamination levels. The effects were slow to appear due to the chemical stability of plastics, but over time, microplastics altered bacterial community structure and soil functions in ways that differed by plastic type. This matters because changes to soil bacteria can affect nutrient cycling and crop health, with potential downstream effects on food quality.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on common bean rhizosphere bacterial communities

Researchers studied how polyethylene and biodegradable microplastics affect bacterial communities in the root zone of common beans. Both types of microplastics significantly altered the diversity and composition of rhizosphere bacteria, with biodegradable microplastics inducing more distinctive changes than conventional polyethylene at higher concentrations.

2022 Applied Soil Ecology 75 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic-contamination can reshape plant community by affecting soil properties

Researchers investigated how polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics affect naturally germinated plant communities by altering soil properties. The study found that microplastics changed soil nutrient availability, decreased community stability, and shifted plant species composition, with total phosphorus identified as the strongest driver of changes in plant community structure.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics alter microbial structure and assembly processes in different soil types: Driving effects of environmental factors

Researchers investigated how biodegradable polylactic acid and conventional polyethylene microplastics affect soil microbial communities across different soil types. They found that PLA increased dissolved organic carbon and pH while decreasing nitrogen availability, whereas polyethylene had contrasting effects depending on soil type. The study reveals that microplastic impacts on microbial community structure and assembly processes are soil-type-specific, with dissolved organic carbon driving changes in red soil and pH being the primary factor in fluvo-aquic soil.

2025 Environmental Research 5 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics in plant-microbes-soil system: A review on recent studies

This review examined microplastic interactions within the plant-microbe-soil system, finding that microplastics affect soil physicochemical properties, alter microbial communities, and can be taken up by plants, with implications for food safety and ecosystem health.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 111 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of polypropylene micro(nano)plastics on soil bacterial and fungal community assembly in saline-alkaline wetlands

Scientists found that polypropylene nano-sized plastics disrupted soil bacterial communities more severely than micro-sized particles in saline wetland soil, reducing network complexity and altering how communities form. Bacteria were more sensitive to the plastic stress than fungi, and nanoplastics disrupted important interactions between soil microbes and plants. This suggests that as plastics break down into ever-smaller pieces in the environment, their impact on soil health may actually increase.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Can Change Soil Properties and Affect Plant Performance

Researchers tested six different types of microplastics in soil and found that they altered key soil properties including water-holding capacity, bulk density, and microbial activity. These changes in soil structure had cascading effects on plant growth, with some microplastic types reducing above-ground biomass. The study demonstrates that microplastics can fundamentally change how soil functions, with consequences for plant health and ecosystem stability.

2019 Environmental Science & Technology 1910 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics distinctly affect soil microbial community and carbon and nitrogen cycling during plant litter decomposition

Researchers measured how polyethylene microplastics affect soil microbial communities and carbon cycling in agricultural soils, finding that microplastic addition shifted microbial diversity and suppressed key carbon mineralization processes. The results suggest microplastic accumulation in farmland could impair soil carbon storage.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 7 citations
Article Tier 2

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.

2024 Plants 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effect of emerging contaminants on soil microbial community composition, soil enzyme activity, and strawberry plant growth in polyethylene microplastic-containing soils

Researchers found that emerging contaminants altered soil microbial community composition and enzyme activity, but these effects were suppressed when HDPE microplastics were also present in the soil, suggesting microplastics may modulate how soils respond to chemical contaminants.

2023 Environmental Science Advances 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial Isolates in Microplastic-Polluted Soil

Researchers isolated and characterized microbial communities from microplastic-polluted soil, identifying bacteria capable of colonizing plastic surfaces and assessing their potential roles in plastic degradation and soil nutrient cycling.

2024 African Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Research
Article Tier 2

Rhizosphere microbial activities in response to combined effects of drought and microplastic

Researchers studied how combined drought stress and microplastic contamination affect rhizosphere microbial activities, finding that microplastics exacerbated drought-induced suppression of soil enzyme activities and altered microbial community structure around plant roots.

2024
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics induce microbial functional reprogramming via rhizosphere network disruption, accelerating soil decline

Researchers used metabolomics and metagenomics to study how polyethylene microplastics affect the rhizosphere ecosystem of the medicinal plant Angelica sinensis. The study found that increasing microplastic concentrations disrupted microbial network stability, shifted metabolic pathways toward stress adaptation, and reduced soil quality, with bacteria serving as primary regulatory hubs in mediating these ecosystem-level changes.

2025 Journal of Environmental Management 1 citations