Abstract:【Objective】The accumulation of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems has garnered increasing concern, as their aging in agricultural soils over time can subsequently affect soil quality. Although intensive vegetable soils face high microplastic accumulation risk and contain abundant aggregates, the effects of naturally aged microplastics on soil aggregate stability and the distribution characteristics of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) remain unclear.【Method】This study conducted a two-year pot experiment simulating vegetable cultivation, including a control with fresh microplastics (CK) and two polyethylene (PE) addition treatments (0.1% and 2%). Soil samples were collected after 2 (2MA), 12 (12MA), and 24 months (24MA) of PE aging to determine the contents of aggregate fractions (>2 mm, 2~0.25 mm, 0.25~0.053 mm, <0.053 mm), aggregate stability indices (R>?.??、MWD、GMD、FD), as well as SOC and TN contents in each fraction, aiming to identify key factors influencing aggregate stability under microplastic aging.【Result】The results showed that compared to CK, the high-concentration (2%) PE treatment at 12MA significantly increased the contents of >2 mm and 2~0.25 mm aggregates by 122.29% and 43.88%, respectively, while significantly reducing the content of 0.25~0.053 mm aggregates by 66.67%. It also significantly increased SOC and TN contents in the 0.25~0.053 mm fraction by 66.16% and 10.45% (P < 0.05), respectively. The aggregate stability indices R>?.??, MWD, and GMD also peaked at this stage, reaching 81.19%, 1.22 mm, and 0.93 mm, respectively. By 24MA, the 2% PE treatment significantly increased the content of <0.053 mm aggregates by 305.18% compared to CK (P < 0.05), and the fractal dimension (FD) reached a peak value of 2.75. In addition, compared to CK, the low-concentration (0.1%) PE treatment at 12MA significantly increased the contents of >2 mm and 2~0.25 mm aggregates by 27.71% and 26.56%, respectively, while significantly reducing the content of 0.25~0.053 mm aggregates by 47.54% and TN content in the <0.053 mm fraction by 13.03% (P < 0.05). At 24MA, this treatment significantly increased the content of <0.053 mm aggregates by 156.03% while reducing TN content in the >2 mm fraction by 10.39% (P < 0.05). Random Forest analysis indicated that TN content in the <0.053 mm fraction contributed more than 13% to various aggregate stability indices, representing the primary driving factor influencing the stability of vegetable soil aggregates under microplastic aging.【Conclusion】This study demonstrates that the impact of PE microplastic aging on aggregate size distribution and structural stability in vegetable soils exhibits a dynamic effect: structural stability peaked at 12MA, but prolonged aging led to the breakdown of larger aggregates and a subsequent reduction in structural stability. These findings provide a theoretical basis for evaluating the effects of microplastic aging on agricultural soil structure stability and carbon-nitrogen coupling characteristics.