Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

The interaction effects of degradable microplastics and Cd to Folsomia candida soil collembolan

Researchers found that the combined exposure of degradable microplastics and cadmium to soil collembolans (Folsomia candida) produced interaction effects on soil organisms, demonstrating that co-occurring microplastics and heavy metals in real field soils can pose compounded risks to soil ecosystem health.

2022 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of the toxicity effects of microplastics and cadmium on earthworms

Researchers evaluated the combined toxicity of microplastics and cadmium on earthworms (Eisenia fetida) using both short-term and long-term exposure experiments. They found that the co-exposure produced interactive toxic effects on antioxidant enzyme activity and caused DNA damage, with toxicity severity influenced by microplastic particle size and concentration. The study suggests that the presence of microplastics in contaminated soils can modify how heavy metals like cadmium affect soil organisms.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 52 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Exposure to Cadmium, Microplastics, and Their Mixture on Survival, Growth, Feeding, and Life History of Daphnia magna

Researchers examined how polyethylene microplastics altered cadmium toxicity to Daphnia magna, finding that microplastic co-exposure modified cadmium bioavailability and affected survival, growth, feeding rates, and reproductive outcomes in this ecologically important species.

2023 Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics aggravate the joint toxicity to earthworm Eisenia fetida with cadmium by altering its availability

Researchers exposed earthworms to polyethylene microplastics combined with cadmium and found that co-exposure caused significantly worse effects than either pollutant alone, including increased avoidance behavior, weight loss, and DNA damage. The microplastics increased the bioavailability of cadmium in soil by up to 1.43-fold and boosted cadmium accumulation in earthworm tissue by up to 2.65-fold. The study demonstrates that microplastics can worsen heavy metal toxicity to soil organisms by making the metals more accessible for uptake.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 166 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Behaviour, ecological impacts of microplastics and cadmium on soil systems: A systematic review

This systematic review examines how microplastics and cadmium interact in soil, finding that they can make each other more harmful. Microplastics can carry toxic cadmium further through soil and increase its uptake by plants, which could mean more heavy metal contamination in the food we eat.

2024 Environmental Technology & Innovation 25 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

Ecotoxicological effects of microplastics and cadmium on the earthworm Eisenia foetida

Researchers studied the effects of microplastics alone and combined with the heavy metal cadmium on earthworms over 42 days. They found that both exposures reduced growth and increased mortality, with the combined treatment causing the most damage through increased oxidative stress. The study also revealed that microplastics can increase cadmium accumulation in earthworms by up to 161%, suggesting microplastics may worsen heavy metal contamination in soil ecosystems.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 330 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined effects of microplastics and cadmium on the soil-plant system: Phytotoxicity, Cd accumulation and microbial activity

Researchers tested how different microplastic types combined with cadmium affect plant growth and soil health. Aged and biodegradable microplastics increased cadmium uptake in mustard greens more than fresh conventional plastics did. The study also found that microplastics altered soil microbial activity, suggesting that plastic pollution in farmland could change how plants absorb toxic metals from contaminated soil.

2023 Environmental Pollution 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Polylactic acid microplastics and earthworms drive cadmium bioaccumulation and toxicity in the soil–radish health community

Researchers examined how polylactic acid microplastics combined with earthworm activity affect cadmium uptake and toxicity in radish plants grown in contaminated soil. The combined treatment significantly increased cadmium accumulation in both roots and leaves while reducing plant biomass by approximately 75% compared to cadmium exposure alone. The findings suggest that biodegradable microplastics and soil fauna together can amplify heavy metal contamination risks in food crops.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 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

Effect of biodegradable microplastics and Cd co-pollution on Cd bioavailability and plastisphere in soil-plant system

Researchers examined how biodegradable microplastics interact with cadmium contamination in agricultural soil where lettuce is grown. They found that the biodegradable plastics indirectly increased cadmium availability to plants by lowering soil pH and changing soil chemistry. The study suggests that even eco-friendly biodegradable plastics may worsen heavy metal contamination risks in farming soils.

2024 Chemosphere 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and cadmium co-contamination on soil properties, maize (Zea mays L.) growth characteristics, and cadmium accumulation in maize in loessial soil-maize systems

Researchers studied the combined effects of polyethylene microplastics and cadmium on soil properties and maize growth through pot experiments. They found that microplastics altered soil nutrient availability and, depending on size and concentration, either increased or decreased cadmium uptake by the plants. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils can change how crops absorb toxic heavy metals, with potential implications for food safety.

2024 Environmental Pollution 27 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of polystyrene microplastic and biosolid application on the toxicity and bioaccumulation of cadmium for Enchytraeus crypticus

Researchers tested how polystyrene microplastics and biosolid application jointly affected cadmium toxicity and bioaccumulation in the soil worm Enchytraeus crypticus, finding that biosolid application altered metal availability in ways that modified the toxicity of cadmium under MP presence. The study highlights the complexity of predicting contaminant risks in agricultural soils with multiple amendment inputs.

2022 Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management 11 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

Coupled Effects of Polyethylene Microplastics and Cadmium on Soil–Plant Systems: Impact on Soil Properties and Cadmium Uptake in Lettuce

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics interact with cadmium contamination in soil and its effects on lettuce growth. The study found that microplastics combined with cadmium significantly decreased soil quality and that microplastics can alter cadmium uptake in plants, suggesting that co-contamination of agricultural soils with both pollutants may pose compounded risks to food crop safety.

2025 Toxics 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics in soil on the regulation of cadmium bioavailability by biochar

Researchers investigated how biochar amendments affect cadmium bioavailability in soils co-contaminated with microplastics, finding that the presence of microplastics altered cadmium mobility and complicated biochar's remediation effectiveness in ways that depend on the specific MP type present.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 2 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Unveiling the impacts of microplastics on cadmium transfer in the soil-plant-human system: A review

A meta-analysis found that microplastics significantly increase soil cadmium bioavailability by 6.9% and cadmium accumulation in plant shoots by 9.3%, through both direct surface adsorption and indirect modification of soil pH and dissolved organic carbon. This enhanced cadmium mobility through the soil-plant-human food chain amplifies health risks, as co-ingestion of microplastics and cadmium increases cadmium bioaccessibility and tissue damage.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 46 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

Effects of microplastics and biochar on soil cadmium availability and wheat plant performance

Researchers found that fresh microplastics increased soil cadmium availability and plant uptake in wheat, and when combined with biochar, microplastics further amplified cadmium mobilization by decreasing soil pH and increasing dissolved organic matter, complicating biochar-based soil remediation strategies.

2023 GCB Bioenergy 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Redefining the synergistic toxicity of nano-plastics and cadmium in earthworm coelomocytes: the mechanism of α-amylase molecular docking orientation and energy crisis

Researchers exposed earthworm immune cells (coelomocytes) to polystyrene nanoplastics combined with the heavy metal cadmium, finding that nanoplastics act as carriers that amplify cadmium uptake and worsen oxidative stress, energy metabolism disruption, and enzyme damage beyond what cadmium causes alone.

2025 International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics and their adsorption of cadmium as vectors on the cladoceran Moina monogolica Daday: Implications for plastic-ingesting organisms

Scientists examined how polyethylene microplastics adsorb cadmium and then tested the combined effects on the water flea Moina monogolica over 21 days, finding that cadmium-laden microplastics caused greater reproductive and developmental harm than either stressor alone.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 92 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential Impactsof Conventional and BiodegradableMicroplastics on Cadmium Transfer in a Soil-Earthworm-Lettuce System

A microcosm experiment tested how conventional and biodegradable microplastics affected cadmium transfer in a soil-earthworm-lettuce system. High doses of conventional MPs increased cadmium in plant shoots by 54% and in earthworms by 80%, while biodegradable MPs had less effect, suggesting polymer type matters for metal contamination risk in agroecosystems.

2025 Figshare
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

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