Papers

61,005 results
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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
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Effects of the co-exposure of microplastic/nanoplastic and heavy metal on plants: Using CiteSpace, meta-analysis, and machine learning

This meta-analysis found that co-exposure to micro/nanoplastics and heavy metals produces stronger toxic effects on plants than heavy metal exposure alone, with toxicity increasing at higher concentrations, longer durations, and with nanoparticles. Notably, polyolefin plastics partially reduced plant toxicity from heavy metals, while modified polystyrene and biodegradable polymers worsened it.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 14 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis reveals the combined effects of microplastics and heavy metal on plants

A meta-analysis of 57 studies found that the combined toxicity of microplastics and heavy metals on plants is driven primarily by the heavy metals, while microplastics mainly interact by inducing oxidative stress damage. Microplastic biodegradation emerged as a core factor influencing heavy metal accumulation in plants, with culture environment, heavy metal type, exposure duration, and microplastic concentration and size all playing roles.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of combined microplastics and heavy metals pollution on terrestrial plants and rhizosphere environment: A review

This review summarizes how microplastics and heavy metals interact in soil to affect plant growth and the surrounding ecosystem. When present together, these pollutants cause significantly more harm than either alone, reducing plant weight by up to 87.5% and altering how heavy metals accumulate in crops -- raising concerns about food safety and human exposure through contaminated agricultural products.

2024 Chemosphere 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrative Evaluation of the Ecological Hazards by Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Wetland Ecosystem

Researchers conducted an integrative ecological hazard assessment of microplastics combined with heavy metals, evaluating their combined toxicity to aquatic organisms. The study found that co-contamination with heavy metals and microplastics poses greater ecological risk than either pollutant alone.

2023 Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 11 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis of impacts of microplastics on plant heavy metal(loid) accumulation

A meta-analysis of 3,226 observations found that microplastics promoted plant uptake of cadmium (11%), lead (30%), and copper (47.1%) in shoots, but decreased arsenic accumulation by 22.6%. Microplastics increased available soil concentrations of these metal cations while lowering soil pH, with machine learning revealing that soil pH and total heavy metal concentration are the primary drivers of plant metal accumulation.

2024 Environmental Pollution 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Coexistence of microplastics and heavy metals in soil: Occurrence, transport, key interactions and effect on plants

This review examines how microplastics and heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and arsenic interact in soil, often creating combined toxic effects on plants that differ from either pollutant alone. These interactions are relevant to human health because contaminated crops can transfer both microplastics and heavy metals to people through the food supply.

2024 Environmental Research 57 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Global meta-analysis reveals differential effects of microplastics on soil ecosystem

This meta-analysis pooled data from 114 studies to understand how microplastics affect soil ecosystems at different concentrations. Higher microplastic levels reduced soil organic matter and microbial activity, suggesting that increasing plastic pollution could degrade the soil that supports our food supply.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 87 citations
Article Tier 2

Coupled effects of microplastics and heavy metals on plants: Uptake, bioaccumulation, and environmental health perspectives

This review examines how microplastics and heavy metals work together to harm plants when both are present in soil. Microplastics can absorb heavy metals like lead, cadmium, and arsenic, and when plants take up these contaminated particles, the combined toxic effect is worse than either pollutant alone. This is concerning for human health because crops grown in contaminated soil could carry both microplastics and concentrated heavy metals into the food supply.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 205 citations
Article Tier 2

A critical review of co-pollution of microplastics and heavy metals in agricultural soil environments

This review examines how microplastics and heavy metals frequently occur together in agricultural soil, where they interact in ways that can increase the toxicity of both. These co-contaminants can harm soil organisms, reduce crop productivity, and potentially enter the human food chain, making their combined presence in farmland a growing concern for food safety and health.

2024 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined pollution of soil by heavy metals, microplastics, and pesticides: Mechanisms and anthropogenic drivers

This study investigated how heavy metals, microplastics, and pesticides interact when they contaminate soil together, finding that their combined effects are complex and often worse than any single pollutant. Microplastics can absorb and concentrate both heavy metals and pesticides, changing how these chemicals move through soil and into plants. The findings highlight how agricultural soils contaminated with multiple pollutants could increase human exposure through crops grown in that soil.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Unraveling the ecotoxicity of micro(nano)plastics loaded with environmental pollutants using ensemble machine learning.

Researchers developed an ensemble machine learning algorithm to predict the ecotoxicity of micro(nano)plastics loaded with environmental pollutants, addressing a key knowledge gap where most studies examine plastic particles alone. The model revealed that co-pollutant loading substantially amplifies toxicity and that particle characteristics govern outcomes.

2025 Journal of hazardous materials
Article Tier 2

Toxicological complexity of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems

This review summarizes how microplastics interact with other pollutants like heavy metals and pesticides in soil, creating combined toxic effects that threaten ecosystems and agriculture. The paper highlights that microplastics can change soil structure and disrupt the communities of microorganisms that keep soil healthy, with ripple effects on crop yields and food security.

2025 iScience 23 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Ecotoxicological effects of plastics on plants, soil fauna and microorganisms: A meta-analysis

Meta-analysis of 2,936 observations from 140 studies found that plastics caused substantial detrimental effects to plants and soil fauna, but had less impact on microbial diversity. Larger plastics (>1 um) impaired plant growth and germination while nanoplastics primarily increased oxidative stress, and soil fauna reproduction and survival were more adversely affected by smaller particles.

2022 Environmental Pollution 52 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Micro/nanoplastics pollution poses a potential threat to soil health

This large meta-analysis of over 5,000 observations found that micro- and nanoplastics in soil harm crop growth, soil organisms, and microbial communities while increasing greenhouse gas emissions. The findings suggest that plastic pollution poses a broad threat to soil health, which could ultimately affect food production and human well-being.

2024 Global Change Biology 57 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Effects of plastic residues and microplastics on soil ecosystems: A global meta-analysis

Global meta-analysis of 6,223 observations found that plastic residues and microplastics decreased soil water movement by 14%, dissolved organic carbon by 10%, and total nitrogen by 7%, while reducing plant height by 13% and root biomass by 14%. Soil animal body mass and reproduction decreased by 5% and 11% respectively, though soil enzyme activity increased by 7-441%.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 252 citations
Review Tier 2

Global hotspots and trends in interactions of microplastics and heavy metals: a bibliometric analysis and literature review

This bibliometric review analyzed over 550 published studies on how microplastics interact with heavy metals in the environment. The research shows that microplastics can absorb heavy metals from surrounding water and soil, concentrating these toxic substances and carrying them into living organisms. This combined contamination is a growing concern for human health because microplastics may deliver concentrated doses of heavy metals into the body through food and water.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 32 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

The effects of microplastics on heavy metals bioavailability in soils: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of 790 data sets found that microplastics can increase the availability of toxic heavy metals like copper, lead, and cadmium in soil. This means plastic pollution may make it easier for dangerous metals to enter the food chain through crops, potentially increasing health risks for people.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 154 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Meta-analysis reveals differential impacts of microplastics on soil biota

Soil microplastic contamination ranged from 0.34 to over 410,000 items/kg across sites, and their presence significantly increased mortality rates and decreased individual numbers, diversity, and reproduction of soil organisms, though biomass was unaffected due to opposing effects on different organism groups.

2022 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined interactions and ecotoxicological effects of micro/nanoplastics and organic pollutants in soil–plant systems: a critical overview

This review examines how micro- and nanoplastics interact with organic pollutants in soil-plant systems. The study highlights that these plastic particles can act synergistically with organic pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems, posing combined threats to soil and plant health that warrant further investigation.

2025 Environmental Science Advances 5 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Microplastics may increase the environmental risks of Cd via promoting Cd uptake by plants: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis found that microplastics in soil can increase how much cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) plants absorb. This is concerning because it means microplastic pollution could make our food crops more contaminated with heavy metals, adding another health risk on top of the plastics themselves.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 164 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Global Meta-Analysis Integrated with Machine Learning Assesses Context-Dependent Microplastic Effects on Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon and Nitrogen

This meta-analysis pooled data from 90 studies to assess how microplastics in soil affect microbial biomass, which is critical for healthy soil function. The research found that in controlled lab settings, microplastics increased microbial biomass carbon by about 10%, but the effect varied greatly depending on plastic type, size, and soil conditions. These soil-level changes matter because altered microbial activity can affect nutrient cycling in agricultural soils that produce the food people eat.

2025 Refubium (Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin)
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Global Meta-Analysis Integrated with Machine Learning Assesses Context-Dependent Microplastic Effects on Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon and Nitrogen

This global meta-analysis pooled data from 90 studies to examine how microplastics affect soil microbes. In lab settings, microplastics increased microbial biomass by about 10%, with biodegradable plastics having the strongest effects. Temperature was the most important factor influencing these changes. The results suggest microplastics are altering soil ecosystems in ways that could affect agriculture and carbon cycling.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 3 citations
Article Tier 2

[Research Process on the Combined Pollution of Microplastics and Typical Pollutants in Agricultural Soils].

This review examined research on the combined pollution of microplastics and typical agricultural pollutants including pesticides, heavy metals, and fertilizers in agroecosystems. The paper discussed how co-existing pollutants interact with microplastics to create compound pollution with elevated ecological and human health risks.

2024 PubMed 1 citations