The soil plastisphere

2023/09/11 by Matthias C. Rillig, Shin Woong Kim, Yong-Guan Zhu +1 · 1 voice · 347 citations
Environmental Science · #Aquatic ecosystem #Biology #Earth science #Ecology #Ecosystem #Effects and risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals #Environmental science #Microplastics and Plastic Pollution #Pharmaceutical and Antibiotic Environmental Impacts #Pollutant #Pollution #Soil biology #Soil water #Terrestrial ecosystem

paper · open access · doi:10.1038/s41579-023-00967-2

published in Nature Reviews Microbiology 22(2), 64-74 (Nature Portfolio)

openalex publication_date 2023/09/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Citations

• Microbial hotspots and hot moments in soil: Concept & review
• Microplastic contamination of river beds significantly reduced by catchment-wide flooding
• The role of multiple global change factors in driving soil functions and microbial biodiversity
• Ecology of the plastisphere
• Mapping human pressures on biodiversity across the planet uncovers anthropogenic threat complexes
• The physical structure of soil: Determinant and consequence of trophic interactions
• Plastic rain in protected areas of the United States
• Microplastic in terrestrial ecosystems
• Microplastic effects on carbon cycling processes in soils

Cited by

• Genetically encoded biosensors for the circular plastics bioeconomy
• The plastisphere: not a unique biofilm but a unifying concept for the interdisciplinary plastic biofilm research community
• Going beyond improving soil health: cover plants as contaminant removers in agriculture
• Antibiotic resistance genes in the animal manure-amended soil-plant system: Occurrence, transmission, bacterial hosts, and human health risks
• Nitrogen Availability Governs Priming Effect Induced by Biodegradable Microplastics Through Microbial Life‐Strategies
• Harnessing microbial power to degrade hydrocarbon‐based plastics
• Impact of conventional and biobased microplastics from mulch films on soil bulk density, hydraulic conductivity and water retention in two different soil types under wetting−drying cycles
• The "Microplastome" - A Holistic Perspective to Capture the Real-World Ecology of Microplastics. [europepmc]
• Searching for new plastic-degrading enzymes from the plastisphere of alpine soils using a metagenomic mining approach. [europepmc]
• Bacterial Communities across Multiple Ecological Niches (Water, Sediment, Plastic, and Snail Gut) in Mangrove Habitats. [europepmc]
• Micro plastic driving changes in the soil microbes and lettuce growth under the influence of heavy metals contaminated soil. [europepmc]
• Plastic pollution in agricultural landscapes: an overlooked threat to pollination, biocontrol and food security. [europepmc]
• Emerging investigator series: open dumping and burning: an overlooked source of terrestrial microplastics in underserved communities. [europepmc]
• Microplastic diversity increases the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in soil. [europepmc]
• Plastic-Degrading Microbial Consortia from a Wastewater Treatment Plant. [europepmc]
• Genetically encoded biosensors for the circular plastics bioeconomy. [europepmc]
• Individual and Combined Effects of Nanoplastics and Cadmium on the Rhizosphere Bacterial Community of Sedum alfredii Hance. [europepmc]
• Colloid and Interface Science for Understanding Microplastics and Developing Remediation Strategies. [europepmc]
• Anoxygenic photoautotrophy driven by humus and microplastics in a photosynthetic bacterium. [europepmc]
• Plastic Debris in Agroecosystems: Distribution and Abundance Patterns, and Relationship with Terrain Characteristics in Southeastern Brazil. [europepmc]
• Comparative impacts of polyethylene and biodegradable film residues on soil microbial communities and rapeseed performance under field conditions. [europepmc]
• Plants and microplastics: Growing impacts in the terrestrial environment. [europepmc]
• Incorporation of microbial strategies for carbon-utilization in interpreting soil priming effects induced by microplastics. [europepmc]
• Toxic effects of biodegradable polylactic acid nanoplastics on developing zebrafish (Danio rerio). [europepmc]
• Global Meta-Analysis Integrated with Machine Learning Assesses Context-Dependent Microplastic Effects on Soil Microbial Biomass Carbon and Nitrogen. [europepmc]
• Long-term exposure to polyethylene restructures the multi-kingdom soil microbiota in maize fields. [europepmc]
• Microbial Diversity of the Surface of Polypropylene and Low Density Polyethylene-Based Materials (Plastisphere) From an Area Subjected to Intensive Agriculture. [europepmc]
• Pesticide, Veterinary Medicines, and Microplastics: Bipartite and Tripartite Interactions Drive the Transformation of Albendazole and Pyraclostrobin in Agricultural Soils. [europepmc]
• Biodegradable, Thermally Stable, and Programmable Cellulosic Bioplastics Enabled by Supramolecular Stimulated Mediation. [europepmc]
• Rhizosphere accelerates breakdown of large biodegradable microplastics in soil. [europepmc]
• Colonization of Microplastics by Different Strains of Pseudomonas Syringae Increases Ice-Nucleation Activity. [europepmc]
• Homogenization of bacterial plastisphere community in soil: a continental-scale microcosm study. [europepmc]

Discussions

• The soil plastisphere is a novel compartment in soils, developing around plastic particles. It has unique properties, and it harbors a specific microbiome. Read about it in our new paper in Nature R [bsky, 25 points, 3 comments]