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Elevated CO2 aggravated polystyrene microplastics effects on the rice-soil system under field conditions
Meiling Xu1, Qiao Xu2, Guobing Wang3
1College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225127, China; State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China.
Environmental Pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
|November 7, 2022
Summary
Polystyrene microplastics (PS) negatively impact rice nutrient uptake and soil microbes. Elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels worsen these effects, disrupting plant-soil systems and microbial communities.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Agricultural Science
- Microbiology
Background:
- Polystyrene microplastics (PS) persist in soil, with poorly understood interactions with climate change factors like elevated CO2.
- The combined effects of PS and rising CO2 on agricultural plant-soil systems remain largely uninvestigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of PS and elevated CO2 on rice performance and soil bacterial communities.
- To elucidate the interactive effects of microplastic pollution and climate change on agroecosystems.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a free-air CO2 enrichment system in farm fields with controlled PS soil addition (10 mg kg-1).
- Monitored rice physiological parameters, elemental uptake, and soil bacterial community structure and function under ambient (~390 ppm) and elevated (~590 ppm) CO2 levels.
Main Results:
- PS alone altered rice nutrient uptake (Fe, Mn, Zn) and increased nitrogen-cycling bacteria, impacting soil nitrogen transformation.
- Elevated CO2 alone boosted rice photosynthesis but reduced nitrogen-fixing bacteria and simplified bacterial networks.
- Combined PS and elevated CO2 significantly reduced rice stomatal conductance and transpiration, further inhibited nutrient uptake, disturbed bacterial amino acid metabolism, and promoted resistant bacteria.
Conclusions:
- Increasing CO2 concentrations can exacerbate the negative impacts of polystyrene microplastics on rice growth and soil bacterial communities.
- This study highlights the synergistic adverse effects of microplastic pollution and climate change on critical agroecosystem functions.
