Papers

20 results
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Article Tier 2

Fate of nano/microplastics and associated toxic pollutants in paddy ecosystems: Current knowledge and future perspectives

Researchers reviewed how micro- and nanoplastics enter rice paddies through irrigation, mulch films, and atmospheric deposition, then harm soil health and rice plant growth by disrupting nutrient cycles and increasing oxidative stress. Their findings are especially significant because rice feeds more than half the world's population, yet research on plastic contamination in paddy systems remains very limited.

2024 Earth Critical Zone 3 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
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
Article Tier 2

Microplastic pollution in rice systems: Impacts, mechanisms and green remediation strategies

This review examines how microplastic contamination in rice paddies affects soil health, microbial communities, and crop yields, finding that the particles disrupt nutrient cycling, impair root growth, and reduce grain production. Researchers evaluated a range of remediation strategies including phytoremediation, microbial degradation, algae-based approaches, and genetic engineering techniques. The study highlights the urgent need for integrated solutions to protect food security from growing plastic pollution in agricultural soils.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 2 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
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Microplastics in plant-soil ecosystems: A meta-analysis

This first formal meta-analysis of microplastics in plant-soil systems found that microplastics made soils more porous and water-retentive but decreased aggregate stability and microbial diversity, suggesting plastics occupy physical space without integrating into the soil biophysical matrix. Maize was more sensitive than rice or wheat, and microplastics enhanced soil CO2 flux and evapotranspiration while reducing N2O flux.

2022 Environmental Pollution 127 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics have rice cultivar-dependent impacts on grain yield and quality, and nitrogenous gas losses from paddy, but not on soil properties

A pot experiment with different rice cultivars found that polyethylene microplastics affected grain yield, quality, and nitrogen cycling in a cultivar-dependent manner, indicating that genetic background modulates plant sensitivity to microplastic contamination. The findings have implications for agricultural management in regions where microplastic-contaminated soils are common.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 61 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastic pollution on agricultural soil and crops based on a global meta‐analysis

This meta-analysis examined data from studies worldwide to assess how microplastic pollution affects agricultural soil and crops. Researchers found that microplastics can alter soil properties including enzyme activity and nutrient availability, with effects varying by plastic type, concentration, and size. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in farmland may affect both soil health and crop growth in ways that depend heavily on local conditions.

2023 Land Degradation and Development 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Life-long impacts of nanoplastics to rice plant (Oryza sativa L.): Decreased grain yield with perturbed metallome and soil microbiome

Researchers studied how nano-sized PET plastic particles affect rice plants throughout their entire life cycle at concentrations found in real-world environments. They found that nanoplastic exposure reduced grain quality and yield, disrupted mineral nutrient balance, and significantly altered the soil microbial community. The study highlights a potential threat to global food security, since rice is a staple food for billions of people.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on growth and metabolism of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Researchers found that polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride microplastics inhibited rice growth and disrupted ionic homeostasis and antioxidant metabolism in a dose-dependent manner, with PVC microplastics causing more severe effects than polystyrene.

2022 Chemosphere 153 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics affect rice (Oryza sativa L.) quality by interfering metabolite accumulation and energy expenditure pathways: A field study

Researchers conducted a field study examining how polystyrene microplastics affect rice grain quality at the molecular level using metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis. They found that microplastic exposure interfered with metabolite accumulation and energy pathways in the rice plants, ultimately reducing grain quality. The study provides real-world evidence that microplastic contamination in agricultural soils can directly compromise the nutritional quality of a major food crop.

2021 Journal of Hazardous Materials 193 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Microplastics and Soil Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Critical Reflection on Meta-Analyses

This meta-analysis pools data from multiple studies to assess whether microplastics in agricultural soil affect greenhouse gas emissions. The findings reveal that the environmental impact of microplastics extends beyond direct toxicity, as they may alter soil microbial activity in ways that contribute to climate change.

2025 Environmental Science & Technology 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of microplastics from polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films on rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Researchers studied how microplastics from both conventional polyethylene and biodegradable mulch films affect rice growth. Both types of microplastics reduced plant height and weight, caused oxidative stress, inhibited photosynthesis, and altered gene expression related to nutrient uptake. This study is important because it shows that even biodegradable plastics can harm food crops, raising concerns about the quality and safety of rice grown in microplastic-contaminated agricultural soil.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 200 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Effect of microplastics on carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycle in farmland soil: A meta-analysis

This meta-analysis of 102 studies found that microplastics in farmland soil increased soil organic carbon, microbial biomass carbon, and microbial biomass nitrogen, but also elevated CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions through enhanced carbon mineralization and denitrification. Microplastic biodegradability, size, concentration, and soil properties all drove these effects, suggesting agricultural microplastic pollution may worsen greenhouse gas emissions from farmland.

2025 Environmental Pollution 34 citations
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

Rhizosphere nutrient dynamics and physiological responses of Oryza sativa L. under polyethylene terephthalate microplastic stress

Researchers exposed rice (Oryza sativa) to PET microplastics and found that the particles were absorbed by roots and translocated to aerial tissues, significantly inhibiting chlorophyll production, inducing oxidative stress (with malondialdehyde increasing by 175% at higher doses), and disrupting nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus cycling genes in the rhizosphere.

2025 Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
Article Tier 2

The effect of microplastic contaminated compost on the growth of rice seedlings

Researchers found that adding PET microplastics to compost significantly harmed rice seedling growth, reducing root length by 38%, plant height by 25%, and chlorophyll content by up to 55%. The microplastics appeared to interfere with nutrient uptake and photosynthesis. This is concerning because compost used in agriculture is often contaminated with plastic waste, which could reduce crop yields and potentially affect food quality.

2024 Journal of the Saudi Society of Agricultural Sciences 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental risk of microplastics after field aging: Reduced rice yield without mitigating yield-scale ammonia volatilization from paddy soils

Researchers conducted field aging experiments with polystyrene and polyethylene microplastics and biochar in paddy soils, finding that field-aged microplastics reduced rice yield without mitigating ammonia volatilization, indicating that aged microplastics pose ongoing environmental risks to paddy ecosystem nitrogen cycling and crop production.

2022 Environmental Pollution 17 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Differential impacts of microplastics on carbon and nitrogen cycling in plant-soil systems: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of 3,338 observations found that microplastics increased soil CO2 emissions by 25.7% but also boosted soil carbon storage through increases in total carbon (53.3%), soil organic carbon (25.4%), and microbial biomass carbon (19.6%). However, microplastics decreased plant aboveground biomass and reduced nitrate and ammonia volatilization, suggesting that while soil carbon sink capacity may increase, agricultural productivity could suffer.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 28 citations
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Impact of microplastics on plant physiology: A meta-analysis of dose, particle size, and crop type interactions in agricultural ecosystems

This meta-analysis of 37 studies found that microplastics significantly decrease plant biomass by 13% and chlorophyll content by 28%, while increasing oxidative stress by 20%. Higher doses and smaller particle sizes caused more damage, with particle size having a greater impact than concentration — and root activity was particularly sensitive to microplastic exposure.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 34 citations