Biodegradable microplastics — the kind marketed as eco-friendly — disrupt soil microbial communities and carbon cycling more severely than conventional plastics, accelerating the breakdown and turnover of soil organic matter through interactions between bacteria and viruses.
1
Biodegradable microplastics caused significantly greater disruption to microbial carbon-cycling genes — including aerobic respiration, carbon fixation, and fermentation pathways — than conventional microplastics.
2
Biodegradable microplastics uniquely enriched specific microbial and viral communities that co-regulated key metabolic pathways, activating a 'viral shuttle' mechanism that accelerated turnover of dissolved organic matter.
3
The effects on soil carbon composition were modulated by fertilization regimes, with biodegradable microplastics driving enhanced accumulation of both labile (readily available) and recalcitrant (long-lasting) carbon components.
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