Microplastics in Soils: Impacts on Plant Growth, Soil Health, and Crop Productivity
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Soil and Plant Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 11
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Microplastic contamination has emerged as a growing environmental concern in agricultural systems, where plastic mulches, sewage sludge, compost, irrigation water, and atmospheric deposition can contribute to the accumulation of plastic particles in soils. Once incorporated into agricultural soils, microplastics may alter soil physical, chemical, and biological properties, affecting water retention, nutrient cycling, microbial communities, and soil structure. These changes can directly or indirectly influence seed germination, root development, plant physiology, photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, stress responses, and ultimately crop yield and quality. In addition, microplastics may interact with agrochemicals, heavy metals, and other contaminants, potentially modifying their mobility, bioavailability, and toxicity in soil–plant systems.
This Special Issue aims to collect original research articles and reviews addressing the occurrence, behavior, and ecological impacts of microplastics in agricultural soils, with particular emphasis on their effects on plant growth and development. Studies exploring mechanisms, risk assessment, mitigation strategies, and sustainable agricultural practices to reduce microplastic pollution are especially welcome.
Dr. Mauricio Schoebitz
Guest Editor
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. Agronomy 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
- microplastics
- agricultural soils
- plant growth
- crop productivity
- soil health
- root development
- soil–plant interactions
- nutrient uptake
- environmental stress
- sustainable agriculture
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