Ecotoxicological effects of plastics on plants, soil fauna and microorganisms: A meta-analysis. (1st October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Huo, Yuxin; Dijkstra, Feike A.; Possell, Malcolm; Singh, Balwant
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 310(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-10-01
• Subjects: Microplastics -- Nanoplastics -- Exposure media -- Oxidative stress -- Plant growth -- Reproduction; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119892
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: The interactions of plastics and soil organisms are complex and inconsistent observations on the effects of plastics on soil organisms have been made in published studies. In this study, we assessed the effects of plastic exposure on plants, fauna and microbial communities, with a meta-analysis. Using a total of 2936 observations from 140 publications, we analysed how responses in plants, soil fauna and microorganisms depended on the plastic concentration, size, type, species and exposure media. We found that overall plastics caused substantial detrimental effects to plants and fauna, but less so to microbial diversity and richness. Plastic concentration was one of the most important factors explaining variations in plant and faunal responses. Larger plastics (>1 μm) caused unfavourable changes to plant growth, germination and oxidative stress, while nanoplastics (NPs; ≤ 1 μm) only increased oxidative stress. On the contrary, there was a clear trend showing that small plastics adversely affected fauna reproduction, survival and locomotion than large plastics. Plant responses were indifferent to plastic type, with most studies conducted using polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS) plastics, but soil fauna were frequently more sensitive to PS than to PE exposure. Plant species played a vital role in some parameters, with the effects of plastics being considerably greater on vegetable plants than on cereal plants. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: This meta-analysis provided plastic toxicity to soil fauna, plants, and microbes. A dose-response relationship was observed between plastic and fauna and plants. NPs caused severer adverse effects than large plastics for few faunal parameters. Vegetable plants were more sensitive to plastic exposure than cereal plants.