Papers

61,005 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

Bacterial-charged biochar enhances plant growth and mitigates microplastic toxicity by altering microbial communities and soil metabolism

Researchers tested whether adding bacteria and biochar (a charcoal-like material) to microplastic-contaminated paddy soil could help rice plants recover, finding that the combined treatment increased shoot weight by over 100% and dramatically improved nutrient uptake genes. The treatment also enriched beneficial soil microbes and reduced oxidative stress in rice, offering a promising strategy for restoring agricultural soils polluted with microplastics.

2025 Plant Stress 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Combined Inhibitory Effect of Canada Goldenrod Invasion and Soil Microplastics on Rice Growth

Researchers found that the combination of invasive Canada goldenrod plants and soil microplastics reduced rice biomass and disrupted antioxidant enzyme activity more severely than either stressor alone, suggesting that microplastic pollution can amplify the agricultural harm caused by invasive plant species.

2022 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 36 citations
Article Tier 2

How biochar works, and when it doesn't: A review of mechanisms controlling soil and plant responses to biochar

This comprehensive review synthesizes 20 years of research on biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste that can improve soil health and reduce pollution. Biochar can reduce plant uptake of heavy metals by 17-39% and increase nutrient availability, making it potentially useful for cleaning up microplastic-contaminated soils. While not directly about microplastics, the findings are relevant because biochar could help mitigate the effects of soil pollutants that microplastics carry and concentrate.

2021 GCB Bioenergy 872 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar counteracts the negative effects of microplastics on physiological and biochemical characteristics and leaf metabolism in Zea mays L

Researchers studied whether biochar could counteract the harmful effects of microplastics on maize plant growth and soil health. They found that adding biochar to microplastic-contaminated soil restored antioxidant enzyme balance, improved beneficial metabolic pathways in leaves, and increased bacterial community diversity. The study suggests biochar may help plants resist microplastic-induced stress by boosting glucose metabolism in root systems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploration of Single and Co-Toxic Effects of Polypropylene Micro-Plastics and Cadmium on Rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Researchers investigated the single and combined toxic effects of polypropylene microplastics and cadmium on rice plants, finding that co-exposure altered cadmium bioavailability and produced compounded negative effects on plant growth and development.

2022 Nanomaterials 32 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

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
Clinical Trial Tier 1

Biochar Offsets Microplastic-Induced Cadmium Mobilization and Plant Accumulation in Contaminated Soils

This greenhouse study found that microplastics in soil can increase how much cadmium (a toxic heavy metal) is absorbed by crops. Adding biochar to the soil helped counteract this effect, reducing cadmium uptake by plants — a promising finding for protecting food safety in contaminated farmland.

2026 Water Air & Soil Pollution
Article Tier 2

Adsorptive behavior of micro(nano)plastics through biochar: Co-existence, consequences, and challenges in contaminated ecosystems

This review examines how biochar can adsorb micro- and nanoplastics with over 90% removal efficiency in aqueous systems, while also discussing their combined effects on soil properties, microbial communities, and plant growth.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 138 citations
Article Tier 2

Divergent Responses of Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Cell Wall to Cd Phytotoxicity Affected by Continuous Nanoplastics Stimulation

Researchers exposed rice plants to nanoplastics and cadmium, revealing a dosage-dependent dual effect: low nanoplastic doses immobilized 72% of cadmium in roots, while high doses disrupted cell wall integrity and increased cadmium translocation to shoots by 34%, worsening toxicity.

2025 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in biochar-mediated mitigation of microplastics: A comprehensive review on removal mechanisms, toxicity alleviation strategies, and synergistic environmental impacts

Researchers comprehensively reviewed recent advances in using biochar to mitigate microplastic pollution, including removal mechanisms, toxicity alleviation strategies, and synergistic environmental impacts. The study found that biochar is a promising candidate for microplastic removal and toxicity reduction due to its high specific surface area and adsorptive properties.

2026 Environmental Pollution
Article Tier 2

Assessing the interactive effects of microplastics and acid rain on cadmium toxicity in rice seedlings: Insights from physiological and transcriptomic analyses

Researchers studied how the combination of microplastics, acid rain, and cadmium affects rice seedling growth. They found that at high cadmium concentrations, the presence of microplastics and acid rain actually reduced cadmium's toxic effects by lowering how much of the metal accumulated in the plants. The study provides nuanced evidence that interactions between multiple environmental pollutants can sometimes produce unexpected outcomes, which matters for understanding food safety in contaminated agricultural areas.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Divergent Responsesof Rice (Oryzasativa L.) Cell Wall to Cd Phytotoxicity Affectedby Continuous Nanoplastics Stimulation

Researchers found that nanoplastics exert a dosage-dependent dual effect on cadmium toxicity in rice roots: low doses helped sequester cadmium in the cell wall, while high doses disrupted cell wall structure and allowed 34% more cadmium to translocate to shoots.

2025 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Biochar alleviated the toxic effects of PVC microplastic in a soil-plant system by upregulating soil enzyme activities and microbial abundance

Researchers tested whether adding biochar to soil could reduce the harmful effects of PVC microplastic contamination on plant growth and soil health. They found that biochar amendment increased plant biomass, restored soil enzyme activity, and boosted beneficial microbial populations that had been suppressed by the microplastics. The study suggests that biochar could serve as a practical tool for rehabilitating agricultural soils contaminated with plastic particles.

2023 Environmental Pollution 72 citations
Article Tier 2

Competitive adsorption behaviors and mechanisms of Cd, Ni, and Cu by biochar when coexisting with microplastics under single, binary, and ternary systems

Researchers studied how biochar absorbs heavy metals like cadmium, nickel, and copper when microplastics are also present in the soil. They found that microplastics competed with biochar for metal binding, reducing its effectiveness as a soil amendment. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils may undermine common remediation strategies that rely on biochar to immobilize toxic metals.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 64 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

Advances and prospects of biochar in improving soil fertility, biochemical quality, and environmental applications

This review examines how biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste, can improve soil health and clean up pollutants including microplastics. Biochar's ability to absorb and trap contaminants makes it a promising tool for reducing microplastic pollution in agricultural soil. The findings suggest biochar could help limit the amount of microplastics that enter the food chain through crops grown in contaminated soil.

2023 Frontiers in Environmental Science 127 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics in soil on the regulation of cadmium bioavailability by biochar

Researchers investigated how biochar amendments affect cadmium bioavailability in soils co-contaminated with microplastics, finding that the presence of microplastics altered cadmium mobility and complicated biochar's remediation effectiveness in ways that depend on the specific MP type present.

2025 Environmental Geochemistry and Health 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insight into the intensification of arsenic toxicity to rice (Oryza sativa L.) by nanoplastic: Phytohormone and glutathione metabolism modulation

Nanoplastics at environmentally realistic levels did not harm rice plants on their own, but when combined with arsenic they made arsenic toxicity significantly worse, reducing plant growth by up to 23%. The nanoplastics increased arsenic uptake by disrupting plant hormones and weakening the plant's natural detoxification systems. This is concerning because rice is a staple food for billions of people, and agricultural soils increasingly contain both nanoplastics and heavy metals.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Upgrading biochar via co-pyrolyzation of agricultural biomass and polyethylene terephthalate wastes

PET plastic bottles were co-processed with rice straw at high temperatures to create biochar that can effectively absorb multiple types of pollutants from water. This study demonstrates a way to repurpose plastic waste while also creating a useful tool for environmental remediation.

2019 RSC Advances 40 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar applications in microplastic and nanoplastic removal: mechanisms and integrated approaches

This review explores how biochar, a charcoal-like material made from organic waste, can be used to filter microplastics and nanoplastics out of water. Researchers found that biochar works through several mechanisms and becomes even more effective when combined with other water treatment technologies. The study suggests biochar-based approaches could be a practical, low-cost strategy for tackling plastic pollution in water systems.

2024 Environmental Science Water Research & Technology 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Elucidating the role of rice straw biochar in modulating Helianthus annuus L. antioxidants, secondary metabolites and soil post-harvest characteristics in different types of microplastics

Researchers examined how rice straw biochar could mitigate the harmful effects of three types of microplastics on sunflower growth and soil health. They found that biochar addition helped reduce oxidative stress and improved antioxidant responses in sunflower plants exposed to polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and polyethylene microplastics. The study suggests that biochar amendments could be a practical strategy for protecting crops in microplastic-contaminated agricultural soils.

2024 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Biochar Reduces Nanoplastics Uptake by Lettuce and Alleviates Its Toxicity to the Plant

Researchers tested whether biochar could reduce nanoplastic uptake by lettuce and found that iron-doped biochar was particularly effective, lowering nanoplastic concentrations in leaves by approximately 60%. Both regular and iron-doped biochar also helped alleviate nanoplastic-induced metabolic disturbances in the plants and partially restored soil enzyme activity.

2026 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry