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20 resultsShowing papers similar to The prevalence of microplastics on the earth and resulting increased imbalances in biogeochemical cycling
ClearPolyethylene microplastics interfere with the nutrient cycle in water-plant-sediment systems
Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect nutrient cycling in freshwater systems containing submerged plants and sediment. They found that the microplastics significantly reduced nitrogen and carbon content in plant leaves and disrupted the microbial communities in sediment responsible for nutrient processing. The study demonstrates that microplastic pollution can interfere with fundamental biogeochemical cycles that maintain the health of aquatic ecosystems.
Effects of micro(nano)plastics on soil nutrient cycling: State of the knowledge.
This review systematically examined how micro- and nano-plastics affect soil nutrient cycling for carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, finding that physical interference with soil structure, alteration of microbial communities, and chemical toxicity collectively disrupt mineralization, nitrification, and phosphorus availability in contaminated soils.
Recent advances on the effects of microplastics on elements cycling in the environment
This review summarized how microplastics affect carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycling in the environment, finding that impacts occur primarily in soil ecosystems where microplastics alter CO2 emissions, nitrogen transformation processes, and phosphorus availability.
The Microplastic Cycle: An Introduction to a Complex Issue
This study introduces and expands the microplastic cycle concept as a framework for understanding how plastic particles move across ecosystem reservoirs, connecting source-receptor models with the fate, transport, and effects of plastic pollution.
The Global Microplastic Cycle in the Ecosphere
This review examines the global microplastic cycle across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems during the Anthropocene, tracing how persistent organic pollutants and microplastics move through environmental compartments. Researchers synthesized evidence showing that microplastic accumulation continues to increase alongside other persistent pollutants, posing growing risks to ecosystem stability.
Microplastic pollution: exploring trophic transfer pathways and ecological impacts
Researchers reviewed how microplastics — tiny plastic fragments under 5 mm — move through food chains across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, turning up in everything from table salt and drinking water to fish and earthworms. The review highlights how microplastics disrupt nutrient cycling and accumulate across trophic levels, calling for stronger management strategies to curb this global pollutant.
The impacts of microplastics on the cycling of carbon and nitrogen in terrestrial soil ecosystems: Progress and prospects
This review examines how microplastics in soil affect the cycling of carbon and nitrogen, two elements essential for plant growth and soil health. Microplastics alter soil microbial communities and enzyme activity in ways that change greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient availability, which could ultimately affect crop production and the food supply.
Migration, transformation, and ecological effects of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems
Researchers reviewed how microplastics migrate, transform, and affect aquatic ecosystems, summarizing evidence that physical aging, photochemical weathering, and biofouling reshape particle surfaces and enhance co-contaminant uptake, while ecological effects span oxidative stress and genotoxicity at the organism level to disrupted biogeochemical cycling at the ecosystem level.
Microplastics in ecological system: Their prevalence, health effects, and remediation
This review provides an overview of microplastic prevalence across different ecosystems and their potential effects on environmental and human health. The researchers discuss how microplastics enter water, soil, and food chains, and examine the various biological effects documented in organisms. They also review current remediation strategies being developed to address microplastic contamination.
Unveiling the hidden world of microorganisms and their impact on the Earth's ecosystems
This paper is not directly about microplastics; it is a broad review of microbial ecology covering microorganism roles in biogeochemical cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and metals, and how advances in genomics have transformed our understanding of microbial community diversity and function.
Microplastics and the delicate balance
This commentary discusses the delicate ecological balance that microplastic pollution disrupts, examining how these particles perturb aquatic food webs, alter biogeochemical cycles, and interact with climate processes. The author calls for urgent action to prevent further destabilization of critical ecosystems.
Environmental Impact of Microplastics in Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review of Current Research and Future Directions
This review examines microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems, covering chemical, biological, and ecological processes beyond simple physical contamination and identifying priority areas for future research directions.
Occurrence, Fate and Fluxes of Plastics and Microplastics in Terrestrial and Freshwater Ecosystems
This review examines the occurrence, transport pathways, and fate of plastics and microplastics in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems globally, synthesizing evidence that these systems are both sources and sinks and that microplastics cycle between compartments in complex ways.
Micro and nanoplastics pollution: A review on global concern and its impacts on ecosystems
This review summarizes the current understanding of micro and nanoplastic pollution globally, covering their sources, movement through ecosystems, and risks to both environmental and human health. The evidence shows that these tiny particles alter soil and sediment properties, disrupt nutrient cycles, and pose potential climate hazards. The authors emphasize that more research is needed on how microplastics move through food chains and affect human health, particularly through contaminated food and water.
Weathered microplastics alter deep sea benthic biogeochemistry and organic matter cycling: insights from a microcosm experiment
Weathered (aged) microplastics deposited in deep-sea sediments were found to alter benthic biogeochemical cycles, affecting nitrogen and carbon processing by seafloor microorganisms. The findings show that plastic pollution can disrupt the chemical ecology of even the most remote deep-ocean environments.
Microplastic in Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Soil?
This review examined the occurrence and behavior of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems and soils, questioning how particles move through and accumulate in soils and calling for more research on land-based microplastic impacts.
Microplastic effects on carbon cycling processes in soils
Researchers reviewed how microplastics affect carbon cycling processes in soils, including their influence on microbial activity, plant growth, and litter decomposition. Since microplastics are themselves carbon-based materials, they can directly alter soil carbon stocks while also indirectly shifting microbial communities. The study calls for a major research effort to understand the widespread effects of microplastics on soil functioning and terrestrial ecosystem health.
Can microplastics mediate soil properties, plant growth and carbon/nitrogen turnover in the terrestrial ecosystem?
This review assessed evidence for microplastic effects on soil properties, plant growth, and carbon and nitrogen cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastics were found to alter soil structure, water retention, microbial activity, and nutrient cycling, with cascading effects on plant growth and soil organic matter turnover.
Influence of microplastics on nutrients and metal concentrations in river sediments
Researchers investigated how microplastics influence nutrient and metal concentrations in river sediments, finding that microplastics alter the distribution of pollutants through their capacity to adsorb contaminants and support biofilm formation on their hydrophobic surfaces.
Microplastics in ecosystems: their implications and mitigation pathways
This review examined the implications of microplastic pollution across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and outlined mitigation pathways to address this emerging environmental threat.