Biodiversity and soil type modulate the effect of plastic contamination on soil functioning

Plastic contamination alters soil physical and chemical properties, threatening essential ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling, water infiltration and soil aggregate stability. The goal of this study is to elucidate how these effects vary with soil texture and test if they could be mitigated by increasing plant species richness.
We conducted a mesocosm experiment combining two soil types (clayey and sandy), four plastic treatments (conventional, biodegradable, a mixture of both, and a control) and a gradient of plant species richness (2–6 species per pot) using seven ruderal species common in urban areas. We measured plant biomass, water infiltration, field capacity, aggregate stability, organic carbon, β-glucosidase activity and combined their individual responses into an overall multifunctionality index.
Conventional plastics significantly disrupted infiltration, aggregate stability and organic carbon to a larger extent than biodegradable plastics. Negative impacts were greate..., , # Biodiversity and soil type modulate the effect of plastic contamination on soil functioning

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.xd2547dx1](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xd2547dx1)

## Description of the data and file structure

**Associated manuscript:** *Biodiversity and soil type modulate the effect of plastic contamination on soil functioning*

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**1. Overview**

This dataset contains measurements from a controlled pot experiment designed to evaluate how plant species richness and soil type mediate the impacts of plastic contamination on soil physical functioning, carbon and nutrient dynamics, plant performance, and aggregate stability.

The dataset accompanies the manuscript listed above and is deposited in Dryad to ensure open access and reproducibility. All variables are provided at the *pot level* (n = 149 pots), representing unique experimental units.

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**2. Experimental design**

The experiment manipulated three main factors:

1. **Plastic contamination**
* Levels in..., ,