Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Microplastics meet invasive plants: Unraveling the ecological hazards to agroecosystems

This study examined how microplastic contamination in soil combines with invasive plant species to affect rice crops. The combination of both stressors caused greater changes in rice metabolism and antioxidant responses than either stressor alone. These findings highlight how microplastic pollution in agricultural soil can interact with other environmental challenges to threaten food safety and crop health.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 70 citations
Article Tier 2

The effect of soil microplastics on Oryza sativa L. root growth traits under alien plant invasion

Researchers studied how microplastics in soil interact with an invasive weed species to affect rice root growth. Both stressors individually harmed rice roots, but their combination produced complex interactive effects that altered root architecture and nutrient uptake. This suggests that microplastic pollution in farmland may compound the damage caused by invasive plants, creating compounding threats to crop productivity.

2023 Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 35 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Impact of Canada Goldenrod Invasion and Soil Microplastic Contamination on Seed Germination and Root Development of Wheat: Evaluating the Legacy of Toxicity

Researchers studied the combined effects of invasive Canada goldenrod and microplastic contamination on wheat seed germination and root growth. They found that both stressors individually and together impaired wheat development, with their combined impact being particularly concerning for agricultural productivity. The study highlights how multiple environmental stressors can interact to compound threats to food crops.

2025 Plants 2 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

The effect of microplastic pollution on rice growth, paddy soil properties, and greenhouse gas emissions: A global meta-analysis

This global meta-analysis of 40 studies found that microplastics reduce rice biomass by inducing oxidative stress and inhibiting photosynthesis, while depleting soil nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic carbon. Microplastics also stimulate nitrous oxide emissions from paddy soils, posing a dual threat to food security and climate through impaired rice production and increased greenhouse gas output.

2025 Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics and Invasive Alien Plants: A Change in Soil Ecology Deliberately Impacts the Aboveground Productivity of the Crops

This study examines how microplastic contamination and invasive plant species can jointly harm crop productivity and soil health. Evidence indicates that when both stressors are present in farmland, they significantly disrupt soil carbon cycling, microbial activity, and plant growth, creating a compounding problem that may indirectly affect food safety.

2024 Journal of Soil Plant and Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

The more microplastic types pollute the soil, the stronger the growth suppression of invasive alien and native plants

Researchers grew 16 plant species in soil contaminated with varying numbers of microplastic types and found that plant growth declined more as the diversity of microplastics increased. Invasive species were particularly affected, losing their typical growth advantage over native plants when exposed to multiple microplastic types. The study suggests that real-world soil contamination, which typically involves a mix of different plastics, may suppress plant growth more than single-plastic experiments have shown.

2024 Journal of Ecology 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics promote the invasiveness of invasive alien species under fluctuating water regime

Researchers found that microplastic pollution in soil can enhance the invasiveness of alien plant species, particularly under fluctuating water conditions that simulate extreme rainfall events. The microplastics altered soil properties in ways that gave invasive plants a competitive advantage over native species. The study highlights a previously overlooked interaction between two major environmental threats: microplastic contamination and biological invasions.

2024 Journal of Applied Ecology 10 citations
Article Tier 2

Co-exposure to microplastics and soil pollutants significantly exacerbates toxicity to crops: Insights from a global meta and machine-learning analysis

A large-scale analysis of 68 studies found that when microplastics combine with other soil pollutants, the harm to crops is significantly worse than from the other pollutants alone. Microplastics intensified damage to plant growth, increased oxidative stress, and reduced photosynthesis efficiency. Interestingly, microplastics did reduce the amount of other pollutants that accumulated in the crops, but the overall toxic effects on plant health were still greater.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyvinyl chloride microplastics and drought co-exposure alter rice growth by affecting metabolomics and proteomics

Researchers investigated how PVC microplastics combined with drought stress affect rice growth using advanced protein and metabolite analysis. They found that both stressors individually harmed rice development, but together they caused even greater damage to plant metabolism and growth. The study reveals that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils may worsen the effects of drought on crop production.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 9 citations
Article Tier 2

The promoting effects of soil microplastics on alien plant invasion depend on microplastic shape and concentration

A greenhouse experiment showed that soil microplastic pollution can help invasive plant species outcompete native plants. The invasive goldenrod grew better in soil contaminated with certain shapes and concentrations of polyethylene microplastics, while the native species was less affected. This suggests that microplastic pollution in soil could worsen the spread of invasive plants, with knock-on effects for ecosystems and agriculture.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Concurrence of microplastics and heat waves reduces rice yields and disturbs the agroecosystem nitrogen cycle

Researchers found that while microplastics or heat waves alone had mild effects on rice crops, the combination reduced yields by about 32% and significantly lowered grain protein and nutrient content. The dual stress disrupted nitrogen cycling in the soil and shifted nutrient distribution within the plants, reducing photosynthesis. This matters because climate change and plastic pollution are increasing simultaneously in agricultural regions.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Oxidative Damage in Roots of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Seedlings Exposed to Microplastics or Combined with Cadmium

Rice seedlings exposed to polystyrene microplastics and cadmium showed combined toxic effects on root growth, fresh and dry weight, and antioxidant enzyme activities, with combined exposure producing greater oxidative damage than either pollutant alone. The study highlights synergistic phytotoxicity in a staple crop relevant to food security in microplastic-contaminated paddy soils.

2022 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil pollution and the invasion of congener Sphagneticola in crop lands

Researchers examined how agricultural pollutants, including microplastics and nanopesticides, affect competition between native and invasive Sphagneticola plant species in croplands. The study found that microplastic and nanopesticide pollution in soil may facilitate the invasion of non-native plant species by altering growth dynamics, suggesting that agricultural contamination could compound ecological disruption in farming ecosystems.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics, invasive species and fungal stressors modulate antioxidative mechanisms, rhizosphere enzymes and microbial dynamics in alfalfa

Researchers tested how microplastics, an invasive plant species, and a fungal pathogen individually and in combination affect alfalfa growth and soil microorganisms. The invasive plant caused the most severe damage, reducing plant biomass by up to 72%, while microplastics primarily affected root growth and altered soil microbial communities. The study reveals that multiple environmental stressors can compound each other's effects, posing serious threats to the sustainability of managed grasslands.

2025 Plant Stress 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Interactive impacts of heat stress and microplastics contamination on the growth and biochemical response of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and maize (Zea mays) plants

Researchers investigated how heat stress combined with polyethylene microplastic contamination in soil affects wheat and maize growth. They found that the combination significantly reduced plant height, root length, leaf area, and chlorophyll content more than either stressor alone. The findings highlight that microplastic pollution in agricultural soils could worsen the damage already caused by rising temperatures to food crops.

2025 Ecotoxicology 2 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of multifactorial stress combination on rice and maize

This review examines how plants cope with multiple simultaneous environmental stresses — including drought, heat, flooding, and pollutants like microplastics — finding that combined stressors often cause more harm than individual stresses acting alone.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Ecological and physiological risks of micro- and nanoplastics in rice agroecosystems: Challenges and engineering-based mitigation approaches

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics harm rice — a staple crop feeding billions — by disrupting root growth, reducing photosynthesis, altering soil microbes, and making heavy metals more available to plants. The review proposes that ecological engineering strategies like microbial bioremediation and organic soil amendments could help protect agricultural land from plastic contamination.

2026 Journal of Ecological Engineering
Article Tier 2

Fate of nano/microplastics and associated toxic pollutants in paddy ecosystems: Current knowledge and future perspectives

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics enter rice paddies through irrigation, mulch films, and atmospheric deposition, then harm soil health and rice plant growth by disrupting nutrient cycles and increasing oxidative stress. Their findings are especially significant because rice feeds more than half the world's population, yet research on plastic contamination in paddy systems remains very limited.

2024 Earth Critical Zone 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on growth and metabolism of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Researchers found that polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics inhibited rice growth and disrupted ionic homeostasis and antioxidant metabolism in a dose-dependent manner, with PVC microplastics causing more severe effects than polystyrene.

2022 Chemosphere 153 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic particles and their additives promote plant invasion through physicochemical mechanisms on seed germination

Scientists found that microplastic particles in soil harmed the germination of native European grassland plants, reducing sprouting speed and total germination by up to 30%. Invasive plant species, however, were mostly unaffected by the same microplastic exposure. This suggests that plastic pollution in soil could shift the balance between native and invasive plants, potentially threatening biodiversity.

2025 Journal of Ecology 10 citations