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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Bioremediation of soil microplastics: the role of microbial and earthworm activity
ClearMicroplastics in Agricultural Soil: Fate, Impacts, and Bioremediation by Earthworms
This review examines how microplastics accumulate in agricultural soils and the role earthworms may play in breaking them down. Researchers found that microplastics can harm soil health by disrupting microbial communities, enzyme activity, and nutrient availability, but that earthworms can enhance microplastic degradation through their digestive processes and the microorganisms in their gut. The study suggests that earthworm-based bioremediation could be a practical strategy for reducing microplastic contamination in farmland.
Fragmentation and depolymerization of microplastics in the earthworm gut: A potential for microplastic bioremediation?
Researchers explored whether earthworms can break down microplastics in soil by passing them through their digestive systems. They found that earthworms fragmented and partially broke down polyethylene and biodegradable plastic particles, reducing their size and altering their chemical structure. This suggests earthworms could play a role in naturally reducing microplastic contamination in soil, though more research is needed to understand whether the smaller fragments pose their own risks.
Earthworms As An Emerging Biotechnological Intervention in the Mitigation of Microplastics
This review explores the emerging role of earthworms as biological agents for degrading microplastics in soil environments. Researchers found that earthworm gut microflora and mucous secretions actively contribute to breaking down plastic polymers through enzymatic depolymerization. The study suggests that earthworm-mediated biodegradation could be a promising biotechnological approach for mitigating microplastic contamination in terrestrial ecosystems.
Potential Use of Earthworms to Enhance Decaying of Biodegradable Plastics
Researchers examined the potential of earthworms to accelerate the biodegradation of both conventional and biobased biodegradable plastics in soil, finding that earthworm activity can enhance the physical fragmentation and microbial degradation of some polymers, though effectiveness varies significantly by polymer type. The study suggests earthworm-assisted composting as a partial strategy to reduce agricultural plastic pollution.
A Systematic Review on Earthworms in Soil Bioremediation
This systematic review found that earthworm-based bioremediation (vermiremediation), alone or combined with phytoremediation and bioaugmentation, effectively reduces soil contamination from heavy metals, pesticides, and hydrocarbons. The research is relevant to microplastics because earthworms interact extensively with soil microplastics, potentially fragmenting them further while also being harmed by plastic particle ingestion.
Earthworm Casting Drives Soil Microplastic Upward Transport and the Formation of Biogenic Polymer Aggregates
Scientists found that earthworms are moving tiny plastic particles (microplastics) from deeper soil up to the surface, where crops grow, and breaking them into even smaller pieces in the process. The earthworms also create conditions that help beneficial bacteria break down these plastics over time. This matters because it could affect how much plastic contamination gets into our food supply, though more research is needed to understand the full health implications.
Potential strategies for bioremediation of microplastic contaminated soil
Researchers reviewed emerging bioremediation strategies for removing microplastics from contaminated soil, highlighting the roles of plants, root-zone microbes, soil animals like earthworms, and specialized bacteria and fungi that can use enzymes to break down plastic polymers into harmless compounds. While genetic engineering of microbes shows promise for accelerating degradation, the review notes that real-world application at scale still requires significant research and development.
Earthworm-Microplastic Interactions: Revealing the Feasibility and Obstacles of Utilizing Earthworms to Maintain the Health of Microplastic-Contaminated Soils
Scientists reviewed existing research and found that earthworms might help clean up tiny plastic pieces (called microplastics) in farm soil by breaking them down in their stomachs and through helpful bacteria in their guts. This matters because microplastics in soil can harm the food we grow, but using earthworms as natural cleaners faces major challenges and needs much more research before it could actually work on farms. The earthworm method shows promise but isn't ready to solve our plastic pollution problem yet.
Earthworms mediate the influence of polyethylene (PE) and polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics on soil bacterial communities
Researchers studied how earthworms interact with both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable PLA microplastics in soil over 120 days. Both types of microplastics changed the composition of soil bacterial communities, but in different ways, and earthworms appeared to mediate these effects by consuming bacteria or altering soil conditions. The findings show that even biodegradable plastics disrupt soil ecosystems, and that soil organisms play a complex role in how microplastics affect the underground environment.
Microplastic-Earthworm Interactions: A Critical Review
This critical review examines how microplastics from diverse plastic waste categories accumulate in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and interact with earthworms, a key soil organism. The authors synthesize evidence on the deleterious effects of increasing microplastic concentrations on soil properties, microbiota, and earthworm physiology.
Earthworm activity effectively mitigated the negative impact of microplastics on maize growth
Researchers investigated whether earthworms could help reduce the harmful effects of microplastic contamination on soil and crop growth. They found that earthworm activity increased soil nutrient content, boosted microbial diversity, and promoted maize growth even in microplastic-polluted soil. The study suggests that earthworms may serve as a natural tool for managing agricultural soils contaminated with plastic particles.
Bioremediation of Soil Microplastics: Categories and Mechanisms
This review examines biological approaches to breaking down microplastics in soil, including the use of bacteria, fungi, and enzymes. Researchers found that certain microorganisms can partially degrade various plastic polymers, though the process is slow and influenced by plastic type, environmental conditions, and microbial community composition.
Impact of Vermicomposting with Soil Enriched with Plastic and Different Biodegradable Wastes on Physical, Chemical, and Biological Parameters of Soil
Researchers examined the impact of vermicomposting on soil enriched with conventional and biodegradable plastics, measuring how earthworm activity altered plastic fragmentation and soil properties. Results showed that vermicomposting accelerated the breakdown of some plastic types while earthworms ingested plastic particles, potentially dispersing them through the soil profile.
Earthworms Exposed to Polyethylene and Biodegradable Microplastics in Soil: Microplastic Characterization and Microbial Community Analysis
Researchers exposed earthworms to biodegradable and conventional polyethylene microplastics in natural soil and found that worms ingested both types. The biodegradable plastic showed signs of partial breakdown in the earthworm gut, while conventional polyethylene remained unchanged. Although microplastics did not significantly alter the soil or gut microbiome in this study, the results confirm that earthworms transport microplastics through soil ecosystems.
Vermicomposting as a potential strategy for microplastic reduction in organic waste: mini review
This review evaluates vermicomposting as a biological approach for reducing microplastic contamination in organic waste streams. Researchers found evidence that earthworms can physically fragment and partially break down certain types of microplastics during the composting process, though effects on earthworm health vary by plastic type and concentration. The study suggests that vermicomposting shows promise as a strategy for mitigating microplastic contamination in compost, but more research is needed on long-term impacts.
Effect of microplastics on soil microbial community and microbial degradation of microplastics in soil: A review
This review examines how microplastics affect soil microbial communities and the potential for microbes to degrade plastic particles in soil environments. The study highlights that soil acts as a major sink for microplastics from sources like sewage sludge, agricultural mulch, and wastewater, and identifies key knowledge gaps including the need for better monitoring of microplastic sources and exploration of microbial biodegradation potential.
Earthworms alleviate microplastics stress on soil microbial and protist communities
Researchers found that earthworms can help alleviate the negative effects of microplastic pollution on soil microbial and protist communities. In microcosm experiments, soils with earthworms showed more resilient bacterial, fungal, and protist communities when exposed to both conventional and biodegradable microplastics. The study suggests that soil macrofauna play an important role in buffering ecosystems against the disruptive effects of microplastic contamination.
Interaction effects and mechanisms of microorganisms and microplastics in soil environment
This review examines how microplastics and soil microorganisms interact: microplastics disrupt soil structure, reduce water retention, and impede plant root growth, while certain bacteria and fungi can colonize and partially degrade plastic particles through a multi-step process involving colonization, fragmentation, assimilation, and mineralization. Different polymer types (PE, PP, PS, PVC, PET) attract different microbial communities, and factors like temperature, moisture, and plastic additives affect degradation rates. Understanding these interactions is key to assessing long-term soil health impacts and developing microbial strategies to reduce plastic accumulation in agricultural soils.
Microbial remediation of microplastic-contaminated soil, focusing on mechanisms, benefits, and research gaps
This systematic review examines microbial bioremediation of microplastic-contaminated soils, covering the sources and distribution of soil microplastics, their physicochemical interactions with soil microbiomes, and the mechanisms by which soil-dwelling bacteria and fungi degrade plastic polymers.
Enhancing the biodegradability and environmental impact of microplastics utilizing Eisenia fetida earthworms with treated low-density polyethylene for sustainable plastic management
Researchers used Eisenia fetida earthworms to improve the biodegradability of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) microplastics in soil, testing whether earthworm-mediated soil processing could enhance the breakdown of this persistent polymer. Earthworm activity increased LDPE fragmentation and promoted microbial colonization of plastic surfaces, suggesting vermicomposting as a strategy for managing soil plastic contamination.
Microplastic transport in soil by earthworms
Researchers demonstrated that earthworms can transport microplastic particles from the soil surface deeper into the ground, with smaller particles being moved to greater depths. Using the common earthworm Lumbricus terrestris in greenhouse experiments, they showed that worm activity significantly increased the presence of microplastics in lower soil layers. The findings suggest that earthworms play an important role in burying microplastics in soil, potentially affecting other soil organisms and groundwater.
Biodegradation of Microplastics in Soil
This review examines how soil microorganisms, plants, and soil animals contribute to the biodegradation of microplastics, summarizing current methods and their influencing factors as more sustainable alternatives to conventional plastic waste management.
Evidence on Potential Bioremediation of Microplastics from Soil Environment around the World
This review examines evidence for bioremediation of microplastics from soil environments, evaluating how plants, bacteria, fungi, and other organisms can help remove or break down plastic particles in terrestrial ecosystems. While soil is a primary sink for microplastics, biological approaches to soil cleanup remain underdeveloped compared to aquatic bioremediation research.
Current research trends on plastic pollution and ecological impacts on the soil ecosystem: A review
This review examines the current state of research on plastic pollution in soil ecosystems, an area that has received far less attention than marine plastic contamination. Researchers found that agricultural practices, sewage sludge application, and plastic mulch use are major sources of soil microplastic pollution, with earthworms being the most commonly studied organisms for assessing ecological impacts. The study calls for more research into how microplastics affect soil biodiversity, nutrient cycling, and long-term soil health.