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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Terrestrial Microbiology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1513890
This article is part of the Research Topic Effects of Microplastics on Soil Ecosystems View all articles

Effects of Different Microplastics on the Physicochemical Properties and Microbial Diversity of Rice Rhizosphere Soil

Provisionally accepted
Sheng Lai Sheng Lai 1,2Cunzhong Fan Cunzhong Fan 1Ping Yang Ping Yang 2Yuanyuan Fang Yuanyuan Fang 2Lanting Zhang Lanting Zhang 2Minfei Jian Minfei Jian 1Jutao Liu Jutao Liu 1Huilin Yang Huilin Yang 1*
  • 1 Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
  • 2 Jiangxi Academy of Water Science and Engineering, Nanchang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Abstract: Biodegradable plastics, as alternatives to conventional waste plastics, are increasingly applied across various fields. However, the ecological risks associated with the widespread use of biodegradable plastics remain unclear. Additionally, biodegradable plastics tend to age in the environment, leading to changes in their physicochemical properties. The ecological risks brought by the aging of microplastics have also been scarcely studied. In this study, we selected conventional microplastics (PE-MPs), biodegradable microplastics (PLA-MPs), and aged biodegradable microplastics (aging-PLA-MPs) to explore their effects on the rhizosphere soil environment of rice. The results showed that microplastics reduced the soil N and P content, with PE slightly increasing the DOC content, while PLA and aging-PLA significantly increased DOC by 21.13% and 24.04%, respectively. Microplastics also decreased soil enzyme activity, with aging-PLA having a somewhat stimulatory effect on enzyme activity compared to PLA. Furthermore, microplastics reduced the soil bacterial diversity index and altered the community structure of dominant bacterial species, with DOC content and FDA hydrolase being the main factors influencing the soil bacterial community. Bacteria were most sensitive to PLA, and the stability of the bacterial microbial network structure decreased, although aging reduced the negative impact of PLA on the bacterial community. This study contributes to our understanding of the ecological risks posed by biodegradable plastics and their aging processes on the environment.

    Keywords: Polyethylene microplastics, PLA: Polylactic acid microplastics, APLA: Aged polylactic acid microplastics, C: Dissolved organic carbon, N: Total nitrogen, P: Available phosphorus, SC: Soil sucrase, CAT: Soil catalase

    Received: 19 Oct 2024; Accepted: 10 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Lai, Fan, Yang, Fang, Zhang, Jian, Liu and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Huilin Yang, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.