Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Increasing Temperature and Microplastic Fibers Jointly Influence Soil Aggregation by Saprobic Fungi

Researchers found that microplastic fibers and elevated temperature interactively influenced soil aggregation by saprobic fungi, with the effects varying by fungal strain, showing that these two environmental stressors can jointly alter soil structural quality.

2019 Frontiers in Microbiology 113 citations
Article Tier 2

Parameters of labile organic carbon as the indicators of the stability of soil organic matter under different land use

Despite its title referencing soil organic carbon and land use, this paper studies chemical indicators of soil organic matter stability under different farming practices — not microplastic pollution. It examines which carbon fractions best signal how organic matter is protected in forest and agricultural soils, and is not relevant to microplastics or human health.

2025 Soil and Water Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Soil carbon cycling mediated by microplastics: Formation, mineralization, and sequestration

This review examines how microplastic pollution affects soil organic carbon cycling, covering direct participation in carbon processes and indirect effects on soil physicochemical properties and microbial communities. The authors synthesize mechanisms by which microplastics influence organic carbon formation, mineralization, and sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.

2024 Scientia Sinica Technologica 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The mycorrhizal symbiosis: research frontiers in genomics, ecology, and agricultural application

This review covers the latest advances in understanding mycorrhizal fungi, which form partnerships with plant roots to help them absorb nutrients and resist stress. While not directly about microplastics, mycorrhizal networks play a critical role in soil health, and research shows that microplastic contamination in soil can disrupt these beneficial fungal partnerships. Healthy mycorrhizal networks may also help buffer plants against some negative effects of soil pollutants, including microplastics.

2024 New Phytologist 187 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Microplastic effects on carbon cycling in terrestrial soil ecosystems: Storage, formation, mineralization, and microbial mechanisms

Microplastics in soil contribute to organic carbon storage through degradation and leaching, but also disrupt carbon cycling by altering plant growth, litter decomposition, and microbial activity. The net effect on soil CO2 and CH4 emissions varies depending on how microplastics reshape microbial community structure and enzyme activity.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics-driven reconfiguration of organic carbon fractions in lake sediments: mineralization and stabilization dynamics of biodegradable polymers

Microplastics in soil were found to alter the composition and distribution of organic carbon fractions, with implications for soil fertility and carbon sequestration. The study reveals that microplastic contamination can reshape the biogeochemical cycling of carbon in terrestrial ecosystems.

2025 Water Research 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Emerging Microplastics Alter the Influences of Soil Animals on the Fungal Community Structure in Determining the Litter Decomposition of a Deciduous Tree

Researchers investigated how microplastics in forest soil affect the interactions between soil animals and fungal communities during leaf litter decomposition. They found that the presence of microplastics altered fungal community structure and disrupted the beneficial influence that soil animals normally have on decomposition processes. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in forest ecosystems could interfere with nutrient cycling by changing how decomposer communities function.

2024 Forests 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and glomalin mediate the effects of microplastics on soil carbon storage

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and a soil protein called glomalin were found to mediate the effects of microplastics on plant growth and soil structure. This suggests that the ecological impact of microplastics in agricultural soils is shaped by the presence and health of fungal communities that support plant nutrition.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastic types and shapes on the community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in different soil types

Researchers examined how different types and shapes of microplastics affect arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities across various soil types. The study found that microplastics alter soil structure and chemistry in ways that disrupt these beneficial fungi, which play crucial roles in nutrient exchange, soil stability, and water movement.

2025 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic additions alter soil organic matter stability and bacterial community under varying temperature in two contrasting soils

Researchers found that both polyethylene and biodegradable PLA microplastics increased soil CO2 emissions and dissolved organic carbon, with effects more pronounced at higher temperatures and in organic-rich Black soil, suggesting microplastics destabilize soil organic matter.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 173 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi attenuate negative impact of drought on soil functions

A meta-analysis combined with greenhouse experiments demonstrated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi promote soil aggregation, microbial biomass, and nutrient-cycling enzyme activity, effectively buffering soil functions against drought. This protective effect is relevant to microplastic concerns because soil health is increasingly threatened by plastic pollution, and understanding natural soil defense mechanisms is important for protecting agricultural ecosystems.

2024 Global Change Biology 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Differential carbon accumulation of microbial necromass and plant lignin by pollution of polyethylene and polylactic acid microplastics in soil

This study found that both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable polylactic acid microplastics changed how carbon is stored in soil. The plastics increased carbon from dead microbes while decreasing carbon from plant material, with most of the additional soil carbon coming from fungal remains. These changes to soil chemistry matter because they could affect agricultural productivity and the ability of soil to store carbon, with broader implications for climate and food systems.

2024 Environmental Pollution 11 citations
Article Tier 2

The Spatiotemporal Successions of Bacterial and Fungal Plastisphere Communities and Their Effects on Microplastic Degradation in Soil Ecosystems

Researchers tracked how bacterial and fungal communities colonize microplastic surfaces in soil over time, finding that the surrounding soil type had the strongest influence on which microbes grew on the plastics. The microbial communities on microplastics were less diverse and less stable than those in the surrounding soil, but they attracted microbes with a higher capacity to break down organic carbon. The study suggests that microplastic surfaces become hotspots for carbon metabolism in soil ecosystems.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 16 citations
Article Tier 2

Stability of organic carbon pools and sequestration potential as affected under different agroforestry systems

This study evaluates how five different agroforestry systems affect soil organic carbon stability and sequestration in degraded Himalayan soils in northeast India. It is not about microplastics and is a false positive for microplastic relevance.

2023 Crop Health 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Can Inhibit Organic Carbon Mineralization by Influencing Soil Aggregate Distribution and Microbial Community Structure in Cultivated Soil: Evidence from a One-Year Pot Experiment

Researchers conducted a one-year pot experiment to study how different types and concentrations of microplastics affect soil carbon cycling and aggregate stability. They found that microplastics significantly altered soil aggregate size distribution and decreased organic carbon mineralization rates regardless of polymer type. The study suggests that microplastic contamination may slow the natural breakdown of organic carbon in agricultural soils by changing soil structure and microbial communities.

2024 Agronomy 18 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

Potential Effects of Microplastic on Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

This review examines how microplastics in soil affect arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, finding evidence that microplastics can alter fungal colonization of plant roots, spore production, and the broader soil microbiome, with cascading effects on plant nutrient uptake.

2021 Frontiers in Plant Science 89 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic fibres affect soil fungal communities depending on drought conditions with consequences for ecosystem functions

Researchers found that microplastic fibers affect soil fungal communities differently depending on whether the soil is well-watered or drought-stressed. Under normal moisture, microplastics reduced fungal diversity, but during drought they actually increased fungal richness, suggesting that the environmental impact of microplastics on soil ecosystems depends heavily on climate conditions.

2024 Environmental Microbiology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities under contrasting soil environments

Researchers compared microplastic effects on soil organic matter dynamics and bacterial communities across contrasting soil environments, finding that the type of microplastic polymer and soil conditions together determine whether microbial activity and carbon cycling are stimulated or suppressed.

2024
Article Tier 2

Characteristics and Driving Mechanism of Soil Organic Carbon Content in Farmland of Beijing Plain: Implication for the Fate of Engineered Polymers in Soil

This study examined how soil organic matter affects the transport of ions and particles in agricultural soils, relevant to understanding how microplastics interact with soil chemistry. Soil organic carbon content significantly influenced the mobility of contaminants through soil systems.

2019 Advances in Polymer Technology 2 citations