Abstract
The accumulation of plastics in the soil ecosystem poses an increasing environmental concern worldwide. However, little is known about the effect of plastic concentrations on soil properties and soil biota. In this study, we investigated the effect of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) microplastics (MPs) on the chemical and microbial properties of agricultural soil using a set of microcosm experiments. The soil was incubated for 100 days with LDPE at concentrations of 0%, 0.1%, 1%, 3%, 5%, and 7% at 25°C with 70% water-holding capacity. Along with soil chemical analysis, we conducted an analysis of soil microbial properties on the first day and again after 100 days of incubation. LDPE concentrations of ≥1% significantly (p <.05) decreased the pH but increased the electrical conductivity of the soil in comparison with the control (0% LDPE at 100 days). Increasing the LDPE concentration did not affect the soil exchangeable cation content or the available Pb concentration. Firmicutes were the most abundant phyla in the soil on the first day, whereas Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria became dominant in all treatments after 100 days. An increasing LDPE concentration increased the abundance of Actinobacteria and decreased Proteobacteria. Principal component analysis demonstrated that only 7% LDPE was positively correlated with Actinobacteria, indicating that higher concentrations of LDPE contributed to the growth of this phylum. The findings of this study imply that MP contamination could affect soil chemical properties and microbial activity and that these effects primarily depend on MP concentrations in soil.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1481-1492 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Soil Use and Management |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 Jul |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. PJ01475801) from the Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. This work was supported by the International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program of China (2020105). This work was also supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. 2021R1A2C2011734). This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the NRF as funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2021R1A6A1A10045235). The authors would like to thank Soobin Kim from Korea University for his assistance with soil analysis and laboratory work. Thanks for the postdoctoral flow station of biology and postdoctoral flow station of agricultural resources and environment in Nanjing Agricultural University.
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. PJ01475801) from the Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. This work was supported by the International Postdoctoral Exchange Fellowship Program of China (2020105). This work was also supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. 2021R1A2C2011734). This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the NRF as funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF‐2021R1A6A1A10045235). The authors would like to thank Soobin Kim from Korea University for his assistance with soil analysis and laboratory work. Thanks for the postdoctoral flow station of biology and postdoctoral flow station of agricultural resources and environment in Nanjing Agricultural University.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 British Society of Soil Science.
Keywords
- Actinobacteria
- heavy metals
- low-density polyethylene
- microbial community
- microplastics
- soil quality
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agronomy and Crop Science
- Soil Science
- Pollution