Effects of plastic residues and microplastics on soil ecosystems: A global meta-analysis

Jinrui Zhang; Siyang Ren; Wen Xu; Ce Liang; Jingjing Li; Hanyue Zhang; Yanan Li; Xuejun Liu; Davey L Jones; David R Chadwick; Fusuo Zhang; Kai Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129065

Effects of plastic residues and microplastics on soil ecosystems: A global meta-analysis

J Hazard Mater. 2022 Aug 5:435:129065. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129065. Epub 2022 May 5.

Authors

Jinrui Zhang¹, Siyang Ren², Wen Xu¹, Ce Liang¹, Jingjing Li¹, Hanyue Zhang³, Yanan Li⁴, Xuejun Liu⁵, Davey L Jones⁶, David R Chadwick⁷, Fusuo Zhang¹, Kai Wang⁸

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China.
² Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, LL57 2DG, UK.
³ Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; Soil Physics and Land Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, 6700 AA, the Netherlands.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; Water Systems and Global Change Group, Wageningen University & Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 4, Wageningen, 6708 PB, the Netherlands.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. Electronic address: liu310@cau.edu.cn.
⁶ School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, LL57 2DG, UK; SoilsWest, Centre for Sustainable Farming Systems, Food Futures Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6105, Australia.
⁷ School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, LL57 2DG, UK.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Plant-Soil Interactions of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of Farmland Soil Pollution Prevention and Remediation, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Academy of Agriculture Green Development, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China; National Observation and Research Station of Agriculture Green Development (Quzhou, Hebei), China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China. Electronic address: kaiwang_ly@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 35650746
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129065

Abstract

Plastic pollution is one of the global pressing environmental problems, threatening the health of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. However, the influence of plastic residues and microplastics (MPs) in soil ecosystems remains unclear. We conducted a global meta-analysis to quantify the effect of plastic residues and MPs on indicators of global soil ecosystem functioning (i.e. soil physicochemical properties, plant and soil animal health, abundance and diversity of soil microorganisms). Concentrations of plastic residues and MPs were 1-2700 kg ha^-1 and 0.01-600,000 mg kg^-1, respectively, based on 6223 observations. Results show that plastic residues and MPs can decrease soil wetting front vertical and horizontal movement, dissolved organic carbon, and total nitrogen content of soil by 14%, 10%, 9%, and 7%, respectively. Plant height and root biomass were decreased by 13% and 14% in the presence of plastic residues and MPs, while the body mass and reproduction rate of soil animals decreased by 5% and 11%, respectively. However, soil enzyme activity increased by 7%441% in the presence of plastic residues and MPs. For soil microorganisms, plastic residues and MPs can change the abundance of several bacteria phyla and families, but the effects vary between different bacteria.

Keywords: Meta-analysis; Microplastics; Plastic residues; Quantitative effect; Soil ecosystem function.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Ecosystem
Microplastics* / toxicity
Plastics
Soil Microbiology
Soil* / chemistry

Substances

Microplastics
Plastics
Soil