Effects and fate of metal-based engineered nanomaterials in soil ecosystem: A review

Metal-based engineered nanomaterials (MENMs) are increasingly being used in people’s working lives. Although MENMs have important effects on soil ecosystem and play an important role in solving soil environmental problems, the hazards associated with MENMs cannot be ignored. Therefore, more and more scholars have studied the behavior and effects of nanomaterials in soils in recent years. In this review, we explore the articles on MENMs and soil ecosystem retrieved from various databases from 2013 to 2022. We discuss the mechanisms of MENM toxicity, the current state of soil ecosystem, the ecological effects of MENMs on soil microbes, earthworms, and plants, and the ways by which soil organisms take up MENMs. We now know that although MENMs have positive effects on soil ecosystem, their potential hazards are not negligible. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the effects of MENMs on soil organisms. Meanwhile, we should pay more attention to the negative effects of MENMs on soil ecosystem while exploring their positive effects on soil ecosystem in future research.