Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: Impacts on Plant Nutrient Cycling and Stress Responses

Microplastics in Agricultural Soils: Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

Introduction

1. Microplastics, which are tiny plastic particles less than 5mm in size, have become widespread pollutants in terrestrial environments, including agricultural soils.
2. While initial research mainly focused on their impacts in marine ecosystems, recent studies have revealed significant accumulation of microplastics in soils.
3. In agricultural soils, microplastics can disrupt critical factors such as water retention, aeration, and temperature regulation, thereby affecting nutrient availability and root development.
4. These changes impose abiotic stresses on plants and disrupt nutrient cycling by impacting soil microorganisms essential for organic matter decomposition.
5. The interference of microplastics with plant-microbe interactions and their potential to adsorb toxic substances further exacerbate stress responses.
6. Research in plant nutrition and abiotic stress is crucial for developing strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of microplastics, ensuring sustainable agriculture and food security.

Research Goals

• The goal of this research is to comprehensively understand the impact of microplastics on soil health and plant physiology within agricultural ecosystems.
• By focusing on plant biology, the research aims to elucidate how microplastics influence soil’s physical and chemical properties, nutrient cycling, and the intricate interactions between soil, microbes, and plants.
• Specifically, this study seeks to investigate how microplastics alter soil properties such as water retention, aeration, and temperature regulation, and assess the consequent effects on nutrient availability and root development.
• It will examine how microplastics affect soil microbial communities that are crucial for decomposing organic matter and recycling nutrients, thus impacting overall soil fertility.
• The project will explore the impact of microplastics on the complex interactions between soil microbes and plants, which are essential for nutrient uptake and plant health.
• Additionally, it will investigate the potential for microplastics to adsorb toxic substances and their subsequent uptake by plants, evaluating the risks to plant growth and productivity.
• By achieving these goals, the research aims to develop strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of microplastics, promoting sustainable agricultural practices and ensuring food security.

Call for Contributions

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and perspective pieces that provide novel insights into the following areas:

• Plant-Soil Interactions: Studies on how microplastics affect soil structure, water retention, aeration, temperature regulation, and the subsequent impacts on plant root development and nutrient uptake.
• Microbial Dynamics: Research on the influence of microplastics on soil microbial communities, including changes in composition, function, and their role in nutrient cycling.
• Toxic Substance Adsorption: Investigations into the adsorption of toxic substances by microplastics and their uptake by plants, assessing the risks to plant health and productivity.
• Ecological and Physiological Impacts: Analyses of the broader ecological and physiological effects of microplastics on plant growth, stress responses, and overall plant health.

Keywords

• Microplastics
• Microbial communities
• Nutrient cycling
• Stress responses

Important Note

All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDGs addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article:

   • SDG 2: Zero Hunger
   • SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
   • SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
   • SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
   • SDG 13: Climate Action
   • SDG 15: Life on Land

   The article discusses the impact of microplastics on soil health, plant physiology, and agricultural ecosystems. These issues are connected to the SDGs mentioned above, which aim to address hunger, promote good health, ensure clean water and sanitation, encourage responsible consumption and production, take climate action, and protect life on land.

2. Specific targets under those SDGs based on the article’s content:

   • SDG 2.4: By 2030, ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding, and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
   • SDG 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination.
   • SDG 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and increasing recycling and safe reuse globally.
   • SDG 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment.
   • SDG 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning.
   • SDG 15.3: By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world.

   The article’s content aligns with these specific targets under the mentioned SDGs, as it focuses on sustainable food production, reducing pollution and contamination, improving water quality, managing chemicals and wastes, addressing climate change, and restoring degraded land and soil.

3. Indicators mentioned or implied in the article to measure progress towards the identified targets:

   • Soil health indicators: Assessing changes in soil physical and chemical properties, nutrient availability, and overall soil fertility.
   • Microbial community indicators: Monitoring changes in soil microbial composition, function, and their role in nutrient cycling.
   • Toxic substance adsorption indicators: Evaluating the adsorption of toxic substances by microplastics and their subsequent uptake by plants.
   • Plant growth and stress response indicators: Analyzing the broader ecological and physiological effects of microplastics on plant growth, stress responses, and overall plant health.

   The article implies the use of these indicators to measure progress towards the identified targets. These indicators provide insights into the impact of microplastics on soil health, nutrient cycling, toxic substance adsorption, and plant growth, which are crucial for assessing the effectiveness of strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of microplastics.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: frontiersin.org