TY - JOUR
T1 - Microplastic effects on carbon cycling in terrestrial soil ecosystems
T2 - Storage, formation, mineralization, and microbial mechanisms
AU - Liu, Yan
AU - Wang, Wenfeng
AU - He, Jianzhou
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2024/12/1
Y1 - 2024/12/1
N2 - Soil is the largest environmental reservoir of microplastics (MPs) on the earth. Incremental accumulation of MPs in the soil can cause significant changes in soil physicochemical and microbial traits, which may in turn interfere with soil biogeochemical processes such as carbon cycling. With published research regarding MPs impacts on soil carbon cycling growing rapidly, a systematic review summarizing the current knowledge and highlighting future research needs is warranted. As carbon-rich polymers, MPs can contribute to soil organic carbon (SOC) storage via degradation and leaching. MPs can also affect the humification of dissolved organic matters (DOM), consequently influencing the stability of SOC. Exposure to MPs can cause substantial impacts on the growth performance, litter decomposition, and root secretion of terrestrial plants as well as soil microbial carbon turnover, inducing changes in the formation of SOC. The presence of MPs has contrasting effects on the emissions of both CO2 and CH4 from the soil. The diverse effects of MPs on soil carbon metabolism could be partly attributed to the varying changes in soil microbial community structure, functional gene expression, and enzyme activity under MPs exposure. Further research is still highly needed to clarify the pathways of MPs impacts on soil carbon cycling and the driving biological and physicochemical factors behind these processes.
AB - Soil is the largest environmental reservoir of microplastics (MPs) on the earth. Incremental accumulation of MPs in the soil can cause significant changes in soil physicochemical and microbial traits, which may in turn interfere with soil biogeochemical processes such as carbon cycling. With published research regarding MPs impacts on soil carbon cycling growing rapidly, a systematic review summarizing the current knowledge and highlighting future research needs is warranted. As carbon-rich polymers, MPs can contribute to soil organic carbon (SOC) storage via degradation and leaching. MPs can also affect the humification of dissolved organic matters (DOM), consequently influencing the stability of SOC. Exposure to MPs can cause substantial impacts on the growth performance, litter decomposition, and root secretion of terrestrial plants as well as soil microbial carbon turnover, inducing changes in the formation of SOC. The presence of MPs has contrasting effects on the emissions of both CO2 and CH4 from the soil. The diverse effects of MPs on soil carbon metabolism could be partly attributed to the varying changes in soil microbial community structure, functional gene expression, and enzyme activity under MPs exposure. Further research is still highly needed to clarify the pathways of MPs impacts on soil carbon cycling and the driving biological and physicochemical factors behind these processes.
KW - Carbon cycling
KW - Microbial community
KW - Microplastics
KW - Plants
KW - Terrestrial soil
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85205577829&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176658
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176658
M3 - Systematic review
AN - SCOPUS:85205577829
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 954
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 176658
ER -