Growth, Root, Photosynthetic, and Soil Responses of Poplar Seedlings to an Equal-Mass PVC–PE–PS Microplastic Mixture

Soil microplastic pollution may affect woody plant establishment, but evidence for tree seedlings remains limited. Populus simonii × P. nigra ‘1307’ seedlings were grown for 45 d in soil containing an equal-mass PVC–PE–PS mixture at 0, 100, 500, or 1000 mg kg−1 dry soil. Growth, root architecture and activity, photosynthetic traits, oxidative status, and soil chemical and enzymatic properties were measured. The 100 mg kg−1 treatment produced limited, trait-specific changes and did not consistently inhibit growth. In contrast, 500 and 1000 mg kg−1 reduced most growth and physiological traits. At 1000 mg kg−1, total dry biomass, total root length, root surface area, root volume, root-tip number, and root activity decreased by 43.7%, 46.5%, 47.2%, 50.2%, 51.1%, and 50.9%, respectively. Net photosynthetic rate and PSII electron transport declined, whereas H2O2, O2•− production, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), and electrolyte leakage increased. Under higher exposure, soil electrical conductivity was higher, whereas available nutrient levels and several soil enzyme activities were lower. These results indicate that medium and high concentrations of the tested mixture were associated with concurrent inhibition of root development, photosynthetic performance, and biomass accumulation under short-term pot conditions. Because concurrent impairment of woody-seedling performance and soil biochemical functioning may compromise vegetation establishment, these findings support the inclusion of mixed-polymer exposure in ecological risk assessments for soils used in forestry and ecological restoration.