Polyethylene Microplastic-Induced Changes in Soil Properties Mediate Nutrient Accumulation and Growth of <i>Amaranthus tricolor</i> L.
Yang L, Wang M, Cheng J, Long J, Wang L, Liu J, Zhai W, Liu J, Feng L, Luo Y.
Soil Health
Plastic mulch films breaking down in your vegetable beds could already be silently starving your greens of phosphorus and killing off the soil bacteria that make nutrients available to roots.
Researchers grew amaranth (a leafy green) in soil spiked with tiny plastic particles shed from common polyethylene materials. Even small amounts of these microplastics caused the plants to grow poorly, turn less green, and absorb less phosphorus from the soil. The plastics also disrupted the microscopic bacteria living in the soil that help keep it fertile — bad news for anything you're trying to grow in that ground.
Key Findings
Aboveground fresh weight of amaranth dropped by 13.5% to 60.7% as polyethylene microplastic concentration increased from 0.25% to 5%.
At concentrations of 0.5% and above, soil available phosphorus decreased significantly, cutting phosphorus content in plant tissue by 22.1% to 31.3% compared to controls.
Microplastic addition reduced soil bacterial diversity (lower Shannon index, higher Simpson index) and shifted community composition, boosting Acidobacteriota while sharply reducing Planctomycetota.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Polyethylene microplastics in soil — even at low concentrations — stunted the growth of amaranth by up to 61%, reduced phosphorus uptake, and degraded the bacterial communities that keep soil healthy.
Abstract Preview
The impact of microplastic pollution on soil functions and the ecological toxicity to crops is a hotspot in agronomy and environmental science. In this study, a pot experiment was conducted to exam...
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