Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and microbial communities in sediments

Researchers found that PVC, PLA, and polypropylene microplastics altered nitrogen and phosphorus cycling in freshwater sediments by shifting microbial community composition, with effects varying by polymer type and biodegradability.

2022 Environmental Pollution 107 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the impact of microplastics with distinct polymer types and concentrations on tidal sediment microbiome and nitrogen cycling

Researchers tested how five different types of microplastics at varying concentrations affect microbial communities and nitrogen cycling in tidal sediments over 30 days. They found that microplastics generally reduced microbial diversity and enhanced nitrogen fixation, with biodegradable PLA plastic showing concentration-dependent effects. The study suggests that microplastic contamination in coastal sediments can disrupt important nutrient cycling processes driven by microorganisms.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Polyethylene microplastics interfere with the nutrient cycle in water-plant-sediment systems

Researchers studied how polyethylene microplastics affect nutrient cycling in freshwater systems containing submerged plants and sediment. They found that the microplastics significantly reduced nitrogen and carbon content in plant leaves and disrupted the microbial communities in sediment responsible for nutrient processing. The study demonstrates that microplastic pollution can interfere with fundamental biogeochemical cycles that maintain the health of aquatic ecosystems.

2022 Water Research 122 citations
Article Tier 2

[Advances in Research of the Effects and Mechanisms of Polyethylene Microplastics on Soil Nitrogen Transformation].

This review examines the effects and mechanisms by which polyethylene microplastics — the dominant microplastic type in Chinese agricultural soils — influence elemental cycling processes in soil, summarizing findings on carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus dynamics under microplastic exposure.

2024 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The impacts of polypropylene microplastics on carbon and nitrogen cycling in coastal wetlands: Field evidence

Researchers conducted a three-month in-situ field investigation of polypropylene microplastic effects on sediment carbon and nitrogen cycling in both intertidal and supratidal zones of a coastal wetland. They found that high concentrations (2% w/w) of polypropylene microplastics significantly stimulated carbon-degrading enzyme activity, while the effects on total organic carbon and nitrogen cycling showed concentration-dependent variation across wetland zones.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Microplastic residues in wetland ecosystems: Do they truly threaten the plant-microbe-soil system?

Researchers used a controlled pot experiment to assess microplastic effects on wetland plant growth, soil microbial communities, and nutrient cycling, finding that MPs altered soil enzyme activity and shifted bacterial community composition but had variable effects on plant growth depending on plastic type.

2021 Environment International 238 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Microplastics Addition on Soil Available Nitrogen in Farmland Soil

Researchers conducted soil incubation experiments adding polyethylene microplastics at varying concentrations to farmland soil from Fujian Province, China, finding that microplastics altered soil available nitrogen dynamics by affecting nitrate, ammonium, and dissolved organic nitrogen levels as well as soil microbial communities.

2022 Agronomy 8 citations
Article Tier 2

[Response of Water-Vallisneria natans-Sediment System to Polyethylene Microplastics].

This study examined how polyethylene microplastics affect the water-Vallisneria natans-sediment system, finding that microplastic exposure alters aquatic plant physiology, sediment microbial activity, and nutrient cycling dynamics.

2024 PubMed 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Microplastic Contamination on Phosphorus Availability, Alkaline Phosphatase Activity, and Polymer Degradation in Soil

Researchers studied how different types of microplastics at various concentrations affect phosphorus availability and enzyme activity in soil. They found that microplastics altered phosphorus cycling both by directly supplying phosphorus in some cases and by changing microbial enzyme function. The study suggests that microplastic contamination could disrupt soil nutrient dynamics important for maintaining agricultural productivity.

2025 Polymers 3 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of polypropylene microplastics on the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from water by Acorus calamus, Iris tectorum and functional microorganisms

Researchers investigated how polypropylene microplastics affect the ability of aquatic plants and their associated microorganisms to remove nitrogen and phosphorus from water. They found that microplastic stress reduced the nutrient absorption capacity of the plants and altered the microbial communities responsible for nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. The study suggests that microplastic pollution may undermine the effectiveness of wetland-based water purification systems.

2024 Chemosphere 6 citations
Article Tier 2

Varied influence of aged microplastics and related leachates on phosphorus transformation and release from the sediments

Researchers investigated how aged microplastics and their chemical leachates affect phosphorus cycling in freshwater sediments, a process linked to harmful algal blooms. They found that different types of weathered plastics and their leachates altered microbial communities and shifted the forms of phosphorus present in sediments. The study suggests that microplastic pollution in lake and river sediments may contribute to nutrient imbalances that worsen water quality problems.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics analysis of plastisphere biofilm and effect of aging products on nitrogen metabolizing flora in microcosm wetlands experiment

Researchers placed three types of plastic in miniature constructed wetlands for 180 days and tracked how they aged and affected microbial communities. The plastics degraded at different rates, with PVC developing new chemical groups and all surfaces becoming less water-repellent as bacteria colonized them. The plastic surfaces altered nitrogen-processing bacteria in the wetland water, suggesting microplastics can disrupt nutrient cycling in natural wetland ecosystems.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatial patterns of microplastic accumulation and microbial degradation function along coastal wetland tidal gradients

This study of a Chinese tidal estuary found that microplastics accumulate most heavily in the high-tide zone, particularly in surface soils, with fragments (72–79%) and small particles under 100 µm dominating. Soil nitrogen chemistry emerged as the strongest factor associated with microplastic distribution, and microbial degradation potential varied across tidal zones. Understanding where microplastics pool in coastal wetlands — and how soil chemistry controls this — helps predict long-term contamination risks for both wetland ecosystems and the marine environments they connect to.

2026 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Polylactic acid microplastics facilitate nitrogen removal in freshwater sediments by modulating carbon-nitrogen coupling

Laboratory incubations showed that PLA microplastics enhance nitrogen removal in freshwater sediments by releasing carbon compounds that fuel denitrifying bacteria, reducing nitrate levels in the water. While counterintuitive — a plastic aiding water quality — this finding reveals that biodegradable microplastics can actively reshape nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems in ways that standard risk models do not capture.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Short-term effects of polyethene and polypropylene microplastics on soil phosphorus and nitrogen availability

Researchers examined the short-term effects of polyethylene and polypropylene microplastics on soil nutrient cycling, finding that these particles can alter the availability of phosphorus and nitrogen depending on microplastic size and fertilization conditions.

2021 Chemosphere 139 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics affect organic nitrogen in sediment: The response of organic nitrogen mineralization to microbes and benthic animals

Researchers investigated how different types of microplastics affect organic nitrogen cycling in sediments, measuring the responses of key nitrogen-transforming microorganisms. They found microplastics alter the composition of organic nitrogen and suppress certain nitrogen cycling processes.

2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastic properties and dissolved organic matter on phosphorus availability in soil and aqueous mediums

Researchers studied how different types of microplastics from agricultural mulching films affect phosphorus availability in soil and water. They found that both conventional plastics like polyethylene and biodegradable plastics like polylactic acid significantly reduced available phosphorus in soil, with smaller and more concentrated particles causing the greatest reductions. The study suggests that microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils may impair nutrient availability for crops.

2023 Environmental Pollution 36 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanistic insights into microplastic-mediated shifts in nitrogen metabolism and sensory quality across emergent and submerged-plant wetlands: Evidence from metagenomics and physiological indicators

Researchers exposed surface-flow constructed wetlands planted with emergent and submerged macrophytes to polystyrene microplastics and found a 12.64% reduction in total nitrogen removal in the emergent plant system, driven by shifts in nitrogen-cycling microbial communities. PS-MPs also altered sensory water quality indicators, with effects varying by plant type.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of microplastics on inorganic nitrogen dynamics in surface water sediments under different disturbance intensities

Laboratory experiments showed that microplastics in sediments alter nitrogen cycling in freshwater systems in ways that depend strongly on concentration: low levels boosted ammonium release, while high levels suppressed it and amplified nitrate consumption. These disruptions to the nitrogen cycle could affect water quality and aquatic productivity, especially in systems that are frequently disturbed by dredging or flooding.

2026 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Effects of plastisphere on phosphorus availability in freshwater system: Critical roles of polymer type and colonizing habitat

This study examined how biofilm-covered microplastics of different polymer types affect phosphorus availability in freshwater, finding that polymer type and colonization habitat determined whether plastisphere biofilms acted as phosphorus sources or sinks, with implications for nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Alter Growth and Reproduction Strategy of Scirpus mariqueter by Modifying Soil Nutrient Availability

Researchers exposed the coastal wetland plant Scirpus mariqueter to four microplastic types (PP, PE, PS, PET) at three concentrations and found microplastics altered plant biomass, vegetative traits, and reproductive allocation, with PET and PS causing the strongest effects by disrupting soil nutrient availability.

2025 Diversity
Meta Analysis Tier 1

Effects of microplastics pollution on plant and soil phosphorus: A meta-analysis

Across 781 observations from 73 studies, microplastics significantly reduced plant phosphorus uptake and soil available phosphorus while increasing soil phosphorus leaching. Biodegradable microplastics caused stronger negative effects on soil phosphorus than conventional plastics, and impacts worsened with higher concentrations and longer exposure times.

2023 Journal of Hazardous Materials 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Nitrogen and phosphorus addition mitigates microplastic community impacts on coastal saline-alkaline wetland ecosystems

Researchers examined whether nitrogen and phosphorus addition could mitigate the negative effects of a multi-polymer, multi-size microplastic community on coastal saline-alkaline wetland ecosystems. They found that nutrient addition partially counteracted microplastic-induced disruption of ecosystem functions, suggesting that nutrient dynamics play a role in modulating ecosystem vulnerability to microplastic contamination.

2025 Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Nitrogen deposition modulates invasibility and stability of plant communities in microplastic-contaminated wetlands

A greenhouse experiment found that polyethylene microplastics combined with nitrogen deposition reduced morphological traits of invaded wetland plant communities, altering competitive dynamics between invasive and native plants.

2024 Global Ecology and Conservation 1 citations