Papers

61,005 results
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Meta Analysis Tier 1

Soil health and ecosystem services

This review synthesized evidence on how soil health underpins critical ecosystem services including climate regulation, water purification, biodiversity support, and food production. The paper identifies pollution, including microplastic contamination, as one of the growing threats to soil health, alongside acidification, salinization, and biodiversity loss.

2023 Soil Use and Management 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Vegetación riparia y la calidad del recurso hídrico en la zona centro del litoral Ecuatoriano

Researchers evaluated riparian vegetation quality and its relationship to water resource quality in the central coastal zone of Ecuador, finding that despite abundant water availability, rural areas lack access to quality water and that agricultural expansion is reducing protective riparian vegetation.

2022 Terra Latinoamericana 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil Health and Quality in Sustainable Agriculture

This paper is not about microplastics; it is a broad review of soil health and quality principles in sustainable agriculture.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A review of soil pollution, causes, and health effects

This review summarized the causes, extent, and health effects of soil pollution, covering both natural and anthropogenic sources including industrial activity, agriculture, and urbanization. The paper discussed how soil contamination degrades agricultural productivity, contaminates water resources, and poses direct risks to human health.

2024 Sustainability Agri Food and Environmental Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of land use/land cover change on soil physicochemical properties and soil carbon stock in Kochore district, southern Ethiopia

This study examined how changes in land use in southern Ethiopia affected soil quality and carbon storage over 20 years. While not about microplastics directly, the research is relevant because degraded soils from intensive farming are more vulnerable to microplastic contamination, and healthy agroforestry soils store more carbon and maintain better structure. Understanding soil health is important context for assessing how microplastics affect agricultural land.

2025 Arabian Journal of Geosciences 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Identifying potential threats to soil biodiversity

Researchers conducted a thorough review of threats to soil biodiversity, identifying human intensive exploitation, land-use change, and soil organic matter decline among the key factors driving biodiversity loss. The review considers emerging pollutants including microplastics as potential threats and emphasizes the importance of monitoring soil biodiversity given its critical role in ecosystem functioning.

2020 PeerJ 121 citations
Article Tier 2

A review on effective soil health bio-indicators for ecosystem restoration and sustainability

This review examines biological indicators that scientists use to measure soil health, including microbial diversity, enzyme activity, and earthworm populations. Healthy soil ecosystems depend on these biological components, which can be disrupted by pollutants including microplastics. The review is relevant because bio-indicators could serve as early warning tools for detecting the impact of microplastic contamination on agricultural soil quality.

2022 Frontiers in Microbiology 210 citations
Article Tier 2

Understanding the effects of Microplastics and persistent organic pollutants' on soil ecosystem services supply

This research review shows that tiny plastic particles (microplastics) and long-lasting chemical pollutants are harming soil in ways that threaten human wellbeing. These pollutants damage soil's ability to grow healthy food, prevent floods, filter water, and support the plants we depend on for medicine and other resources. When soil gets polluted, it creates a chain reaction that reduces food production and makes our environment less able to protect us from natural disasters.

2026
Article Tier 2

A 10-Year Monitoring of Soil Properties Dynamics and Soil Fertility Evaluation in Chinese Hickory Plantation Regions of Southeastern China

A 10-year soil monitoring study in Chinese hickory plantations found that intensive agricultural management caused significant changes in soil chemistry and fertility over time. While not directly about microplastics, understanding soil health in managed agricultural landscapes is relevant to assessing microplastic accumulation in farmland soils.

2021 Research Square (Research Square) 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Arthropod Community Structure Indicating Soil Quality Recovery in the Organic Agroecosystem of Mount Ciremai National Park’s Buffer Zone

This study assessed arthropod community structure as an indicator of soil quality recovery in organic agroecosystems in the Mount Ciremai National Park buffer zone, finding that the transition from conventional to organic farming supports improvements in soil biodiversity.

2023 Caraka Tani Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 17 citations
Article Tier 2

How microplastics are destroying soil and human health

This review examined how microplastics harm soil health — disrupting soil structure, water retention, microbial communities, and nutrient cycling — and how soil degradation translates into risks for human health through food and water contamination. It argues that soil microplastic pollution deserves equivalent attention to aquatic contamination.

2024
Article Tier 2

Evaluation of soil fertility status in the Kyoga Basin of Uganda: A physio-chemical study in Buyende and Serere districts

This paper is not about microplastics — it assesses soil nutrient levels (pH, nitrogen, phosphorus, organic matter) in agricultural districts of Uganda to guide farming practices.

2023 African Journal of Agricultural Research 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Specific response of soil properties to microplastics pollution: A review

This review summarizes how microplastic pollution changes the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil. Microplastics can alter soil structure, water retention, and nutrient cycling, and they also affect the communities of microorganisms that keep soil healthy. Since contaminated soil grows our food, these changes could indirectly affect human health through the food supply.

2023 Environmental Research 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil under stress: The importance of soil life and how it is influenced by (micro)plastic pollution

This review examines how plastic pollution in soil disrupts soil organisms and microorganisms that regulate essential ecosystem functions, finding that plastic alters soil chemistry, physical structure, and microbial communities in ways that threaten primary production and carbon cycling.

2022 Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal 78 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastics on Soil's Biodiversity and Public Health

This book chapter examines how microplastic contamination of soil affects biodiversity—including soil microbes, invertebrates, and plants—and discusses the broader public health implications of agricultural soil pollution and potential pathways of human exposure through food.

2025
Article Tier 2

The potentiality of GIS for assessing soil pollution – A review

Not relevant to microplastics — this review examines how Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can be applied to assess and map soil pollution from heavy metals, pesticides, and other contaminants, with no substantive microplastics content.

2023 International Journal of Agricultural and Applied Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

A global review on the abundance and threats of microplastics in soils to terrestrial ecosystem and human health

This review examines microplastic pollution levels across agricultural, roadside, urban, and landfill soils worldwide, finding wide variation but consistent contamination. Microplastics alter soil pH, density, and water movement, disrupt microbial communities, inhibit plant growth, and affect soil animals. For humans, the concern is that microplastics in soil can enter the food chain through crops and contaminated water.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated Ecological Risk Assessment of the Agricultural Area under a High Anthropopressure Based on Chemical, Ecotoxicological and Ecological Indicators

Researchers conducted an integrated ecological risk assessment of agricultural land using chemical, ecotoxicological, and ecological indicators, finding that while chemical analysis overestimated risk, the combined approach revealed most of the area had acceptable risk levels despite over a century of anthropogenic pressure.

2023 Agriculture 9 citations
Review Tier 2

Sources, pollution, and ecological impacts of soil microplastics-A review

A comprehensive review summarized the sources, distribution, and ecological impacts of microplastics in soil environments, synthesizing evidence on how plastics affect soil organisms, structure, and agricultural productivity. The review calls for urgent policy action to address soil microplastic contamination as a threat to food security.

2025 Environmental chemistry and safety 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil pollution in the European Union – An outlook

This review assesses the state of soil pollution across the European Union, finding that contamination from heavy metals, pesticides, and emerging pollutants like microplastics is widespread but poorly monitored. The authors call for standardized measurement methods and updated regulations, noting that soil pollution can affect human health through contaminated crops and drinking water.

2024 Environmental Science & Policy 38 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial Risks ofMicroplastics in Soils and the CascadingEffects Thereof

This review mapped the spatial risks of microplastic contamination in global soils, examining how climate, land use, and human activities distribute MP pollution and analyzing cascading effects on soil ecology, carbon cycling, and ecosystem services.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on soil physical, chemical and biological properties

This review examines how microplastics affect soil health, covering their impact on the physical structure, chemical composition, and biological communities of soil ecosystems. Microplastics can alter soil water retention, change nutrient cycling, and harm soil organisms from earthworms to microbes. Since agricultural soils are a major reservoir of microplastics, these changes could affect crop growth and food quality, creating an indirect pathway for microplastic-related harm to human health.

2024 Natural Hazards Research 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Impact of Micro-plastics on Soil Health and Ecosystem Dynamics: A Comprehensive Review

This review examines how microplastics affect soil health, finding that they alter soil structure, water retention, and the organisms that live in soil. Microplastics can carry toxic substances into soil and interact with other pollutants to amplify harmful effects on earthworms and soil microbes. Since healthy soil is essential for growing safe food, microplastic contamination of agricultural land could have long-term consequences for the food supply and human health.

2024 Journal of Experimental Biology and Agricultural Sciences 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Macrofauna edáfica y calidad del suelo en agroecosistemas agrícolas y pecuarios de Campeche

This Mexican study assessed soil macrofauna and soil quality across different agricultural land uses in Campeche, finding that land use intensification affects both biological communities and soil properties. Healthy soil fauna are important for regulating the distribution of microplastics in agricultural soils.

2023 Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Agrícolas 2 citations