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Agriculture
Special Issues
Micro- and Nanoplastic Pollution in Agricultural Soils
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Micro- and Nanoplastic Pollution in Agricultural Soils

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecosystem, Environment and Climate Change in Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1406

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Hu Cheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: soil chemistry; microplastic; mulch film; char materials; dissolved organic matter
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yan Zhu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Ecology and the Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
Interests: microplastics; soil organisms; soil biodiversity; plant–animal interactions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plastic pollution is a globally escalating environmental threat, pervasive across diverse ecosystems. Contamination in agricultural soils demands urgent attention due to its direct implications for food safety. Micro- and nanoplastics accumulate in farmland, altering soil physicochemical properties, disrupting structure, reducing biodiversity, and impairing biogeochemical cycles. These particles may enter the food chain via crop uptake, bioaccumulate in humans, and pose health risks. However, critical knowledge gaps persist regarding the source identification and ecological impacts of micro- and nanoplastics in agricultural soils. Mechanistic understanding remains limited, and significant uncertainties hinder effective pollution control and ecological restoration strategies.

This Special Issue will focus on source identification and analysis of micro- and nanoplastics, aging processes of micro- and nanoplastics, plasticizers in micro- and nanoplastics and their release and environmental impacts, effects of micro- and nanoplastics on soil structure, soil chemical properties, soil biota, and elemental cycling, transport and transformation of micro- and nanoplastics in the soil–plant system, and green plastic products for agricultural use. This issue will include interdisciplinary studies embracing agriculture with ecology, environmental science and engineering, chemistry, and related fields. All types of articles, such as original research, opinions, and reviews, are welcome.

Dr. Hu Cheng
Dr. Yan Zhu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • soil
  • microplastic
  • nanoplastic
  • mulch film
  • ecological risk
  • transport
 

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 2901 KB  
Article
How Microplastics Influence the Microbial Communities of Periphytic Biofilm Between the Paddy Soil and Water Interface: A Microcosm Study
by Yufei Dong, Congying Han, Shuai Pan, Xinli Lin, Lingyuan Chen, Yinlong Zhang and Haiying Lu
Agriculture 2026, 16(9), 968; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16090968 - 28 Apr 2026
Viewed by 334
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants that affect soil–microbe interactions in paddy ecosystems. Periphytic biofilms (PBs) are complex microbial consortia that ubiquitously distribute at the soil–water interface of paddy ecosystems, playing essential roles in nutrient cycling and pollutant migration. However, whether MPs affect the [...] Read more.
Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants that affect soil–microbe interactions in paddy ecosystems. Periphytic biofilms (PBs) are complex microbial consortia that ubiquitously distribute at the soil–water interface of paddy ecosystems, playing essential roles in nutrient cycling and pollutant migration. However, whether MPs affect the community composition of PBs remains largely unknown. This microcosm study investigated the effects of three types of MPs (polyacrylonitrile, PAN; polyethylene, PE; and polyethylene terephthalate, PET) on the community characteristics of PBs via high-throughput sequencing (16S/18S rRNA) technology. Results showed that the addition of all MPs significantly increased the biomass and chlorophyll-a content of PBs, with PAN inducing the maximum increase (by 331.9% and 128.6%). However, all MPs had no significant effect on the PB α-diversity of bacterial and eukaryotic communities (p > 0.05). As for PB composition, PAN and PET increased the relative abundance of Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria and Holozoa, PE increased that of Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidota and Blastocladiomycota, and all MPs decreased the relative abundance of Chloroflexi, Actinobacteriota and Basidiomycota. Furthermore, PET decreased the predicted functional potential of natural polymer degradation (cellulolysis, ligninolysis, xylanolysis, ureolysis), nitrogen fixation and nitrate ammonification, while PE increased predicted potential for plastic degradation, nitrate reduction and denitrification. Co-occurrence network analysis suggested that the PE network showed higher connectivity and lower modularity, while the PAN network showed higher modularity. This study advances our understanding of soil MPs–microbe interactions under high-concentration conditions. It also suggests that PB community characteristics may serve as potential bioindicators for soil MP pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro- and Nanoplastic Pollution in Agricultural Soils)
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14 pages, 991 KB  
Article
Effect of Microplastics on the Environmental Fate of Atrazine in Soil: Adsorption and Dissipation
by Zhao Cheng, Wenfeng Yang, Xinyun Zhou, Jian Chen, Hui Zhang, Kang Lv, Liya Ma, Jing Ge, Yaoyao Cao, Fidèle Suanon, Xiangyang Yu and Hongjie Sheng
Agriculture 2026, 16(6), 705; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16060705 - 21 Mar 2026
Viewed by 606
Abstract
The accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in agricultural soils and atrazine in agricultural soils creates compound pollution that severely threatens soil health. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polybutylene succinate (PBS) on the adsorption and [...] Read more.
The accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in agricultural soils and atrazine in agricultural soils creates compound pollution that severely threatens soil health. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polybutylene succinate (PBS) on the adsorption and degradation of atrazine in yellow-brown and black soil. Batch adsorption kinetic and isotherm experiments were conducted in two distinct soils amended with MPs. A 90-day degradation experiment was performed to monitor atrazine persistence and the activities of key soil enzymes. The adsorption process was best described by the pseudo-second-order model and the Freundlich isotherm model, suggesting dominant chemisorption and multilayer adsorption on heterogeneous surfaces of the soil–MP composites. All MPs significantly enhanced the adsorption capacity for atrazine (6.80–39.93 mg kg−1), with the order PBS > PE > PVC. Furthermore, the degradation of atrazine was impeded by all MPs, with PVC exhibiting the strongest inhibitory effect. The half-life of atrazine ranges from 22.97 to 81.76 days in two soils. The presence of MPs also influenced soil enzyme activities and the effects varied by MP type and soil property. These results demonstrate that MPs can modify the adsorption and persistence of atrazine in soil, thereby increasing its environmental risk. This study provides valuable insights for the long-term ecological risk assessment of co-existing MPs and pesticide pollution in terrestrial environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro- and Nanoplastic Pollution in Agricultural Soils)
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