Reinventing soil health: Overview of advances in fungal and nano‐enhanced bioremediation strategies for soil microplastics pollution

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) pollution in soil poses serious environmental challenges that affect soil health, agricultural productivity, food safety, and human health. Traditional remediation methods are often costly and of limited effectiveness, necessitating the development of sustainable alternatives. Fungal bioremediation is promising for degrading robust polymers like polyethylene, polystyrene, and polyurethane through an ecologically friendly process, although it is often slowed by factors such as sluggish kinetics and variable environmental conditions. Nano‐enhanced approaches, including photocatalysis and enzyme–nanoparticle (NP) complexes, have shown increased degradation efficiency. Analytical tools have been improved to thoroughly verify biodegradation processes and products. However, challenges still remain with concerns regarding NPs toxicity, incomplete mineralization, effects on nontarget soil organisms, and scalability for field applications. Thus, this review synthesizes current findings on fungal and nano‐enabled techniques as synergistic methods for MPs remediation in soil. Importantly, this synthesis critically examines the extent to which fungal and nano‐based strategies act synergistically and explicitly distinguishes degradation from adsorptive removal, fragmentation, and mineralization throughout. It also evaluates the strategies against the constraints of real, heterogeneous agricultural soils rather than spiked laboratory matrices alone. Future research should prioritize the development of safe nanomaterials, improved fungal strains, and integrated biotic–abiotic systems, along with long‐term assessments, to promote effective and environmentally sustainable remediation strategies. The combination of fungal and nano‐enhanced technologies represents a promising platform for addressing MPs soil contamination and fostering resilient agricultural ecosystems.