Regulatory path for soil microbial communities depends on the type and dose of microplastics

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  • microplastic to soil microbial community structure

    Accepted author manuscript, 139 KB, Word document

    Embargo ends: 22/05/25

    Licence: CC BY-NC-ND Show licence

DOI

  • Ruimin Qi
    Southern University of Science and Technology
  • Davey L Jones
    School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University
  • Yuanyuan Tang
    Southern University of Science and Technology
  • Fengxiang Gao
    Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Jiawei Li
    Southern University of Science and Technology
  • Yihan Chi
    Southern University of Science and Technology
  • Changrong Yan
    Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing

To reveal the feedbacks and regulating mechanisms of microplastic types and doses on microbial community, a microcosm experiment was carried out with two non-degradable microplastics [polyethylene (PE) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)] and four biodegradable microplastics [poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), poly(butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), and polypropylene carbonate (PPC)] at different levels (1 %, 7 %, and 28 %). As a result, the content of total carbon (TC), soil organic carbon (SOC), and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) (expect MBC in PBS soil) increased with increasing doses of microplastics, and increased at the lowest PE dose rate. Biodegradable microplastics created a more active ecological niche while enriching more pathogens than non-degradable microplastics. Structural equation modeling indicated that microbial diversities were in a type-dependent assembly, whereas microbial compositions were more profoundly affected by the microplastic doses, ultimately. The standardized total effect coefficient of microplastic types on bacterial and fungal diversities was - 0.429 and - 0.282, and that of doses on bacterial and fungal compositions was 0.487 and 0.336, respectively. Both microplastic types and doses significantly impacted pH, electrical conductivity, total nitrogen, TC, SOC, and MBC, subsequently inhibiting microbial diversities and stimulating microbial compositions with particular pathways. The results provide a comprehensive understanding for evaluating the potential risk of microplastics.

Keywords

  • Microplastics/toxicity, Soil Microbiology, Soil Pollutants/toxicity, Bacteria/drug effects, Fungi/drug effects, Microbiota/drug effects, Polypropylenes, Carbon/chemistry
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)134702
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume473
Early online date22 May 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jul 2024
Externally publishedYes
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