Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ze-Ying Zhao, Peng-Yang Wang, Yi-Bo Wang, Rui Zhou, Kiprotich Koskei, Alex Ndolo Munyasya, Shu-Tong Liu, Wei Wang, Yong-Zhong Su, You-Cai Xiong
Summary: The study investigated the degradation characteristics of Bio and LDPE plastic films in maize fields and their effects on soil aggregate composition and carbon & nitrogen stocks. Results showed that Bio film degraded significantly but left residues, impacting soil aggregate proportions and C/N ratio.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kiprotich Koskei, Alex Ndolo Munyasya, Yi-Bo Wang, Ze-Ying Zhao, Rui Zhou, Sylvia Ngaira Indoshi, Wei Wang, Wesly Kiprotich Cheruiyot, David Mwehia Mburu, Aggrey Bernard Nyende, You-Cai Xiong
Summary: The intensive use of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic films in agro-ecosystems has raised concerns due to the increasing film residues in soils. A study on maize fields found that the increased film residues affected soil properties and crop productivity, with biodegradable (Bio) film residues showing slightly less negative impact compared to LDPE residues. This resulted in changes in soil nitrogen content, bulk density, porosity, microbial biomass, and maize yield.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vinoth M. Kumar, Merline A. Sheela
Summary: In this study, plastic residues were found in four regions of Tamil Nadu, India, with the highest distribution in Sulur. The mulching practice did not affect the dehydrogenase enzyme activity of the rhizosphere soil. Plastic debris was mainly in the form of films in the study area.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Beifang Yang, Lu Feng, Xiaofei Li, Guozheng Yang, Yunzhen Ma, Yabing Li
Summary: Plastic film mulching affects the soil moisture, temperature, and canopy photosynthetically active radiation in cotton fields. It increases soil moisture and temperature, promoting early growth of cotton.
Article
Agronomy
Guixin Zhang, Shibo Zhang, Zhenqing Xia, Mengke Wu, Jingxuan Bai, Haidong Lu
Summary: With the increased use of agricultural film, the potential environmental risks have been getting attention. A two-year field experiment in China's Loess Plateau region studied the effects of residual biodegradable film and polyethylene film on soil moisture, maize root, and productivity at different residual levels.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Bing-chao Zhang, Han Hu, Zheng-yu Guo, Shuai Gong, Si Shen, Shu-hua Liao, Xin Wang, Shun-li Zhou, Zhong-dong Zhang
Summary: Planting under plastic-film mulches in arid-cold regions can save water and warm the soil. The plastic-film-side seeding (PSS) technology increased maize yield and plant number compared to traditional methods. PSS also improved soil conditions, grain yield, and water use efficiency, and had economic and environmental benefits.
JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Agronomy
Lei Shen, Xiuyuan Wang, Tingting Liu, Wenwen Wei, Shuai Zhang, Yun Zhu, Tayir Tuerti, Luhua Li, Wei Zhang
Summary: Interplanting fruit trees with legumes is a valuable approach for maintaining soil nitrogen quality and fertility in dryland agroecosystems. This study examined the dynamics of fine root length density (FRLD), soil water content (SWC), and soil nitrate-nitrogen content (SNC) in an apple-soybean intercropping system to optimize orchard management. The results showed that intercropping increased FRLD and SWC, while decreasing SNC, with the effect mainly observed in the soybean cover area. Interspecific competition between apple and soybean was highest during soybean seed filling stage, primarily occurring at a distance of 100 cm from the tree and at a soil depth of 0-20 cm. Intercropping negatively affected soybean growth and yield, with a land equivalent ratio of 1.45. This study provides a theoretical basis for exploring sustainable intensification of agroforestry systems by understanding subsoil resource dynamics and interspecific competition in apple-soybean intercropping systems.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Yue Wen, Jian Liu, Yam Dhital, Xiaodi Wu, Libing Song, Yan Zhu, Pengpeng Chen, Wenhao Li, Zhenhua Wang
Summary: The study found that different amounts of RPF negatively affected cotton growth and yield, as well as reducing carbon sequestration. Cotton economic benefits and field carbon storage were not significantly weakened when RPF amounts were less than 228.03 kg ha(-1).
AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Agricultural Engineering
Mohamed A. Mattar, Ahmed A. Al-Othman, Hosam O. Elansary, Ahmed M. Elfeky, Akram K. Alshami
Summary: The study found that using black plastic film (BPF) and palm tree waste (PTW) as mulching materials can improve soil water retention capacity and save water in subsurface drip irrigation systems. Additionally, a drip line depth of 15 cm showed better water savings compared to 25 cm, with surface drip irrigation consuming more water. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was identified as a superior model for estimating soil water content (theta(v)), showing higher correlation coefficients, lower root mean square errors, and higher agreement indices compared to multiple nonlinear regression (MNLR) models.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Youliang Zhang, Yongqi Tang, Yingjie Hu, Shaoyuan Feng, Fengxin Wang, Zhaohui Wang
Summary: This study investigated the effects of film mulching and soil wetted percentage on soil hydrothermal conditions and sweet potato growth. The results showed that film mulching significantly increased soil temperature, sweet potato yield, and water use efficiency. Black plastic mulching and transparent plastic mulching had positive effects on soil temperature and yield. Film mulching was found to be more important for sweet potato growth than irrigation.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF AGRONOMY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dong Wang, Yue Xi, Xiao-Yan Shi, Yu-Jie Zhong, Chao-Li Guo, Ya-Nan Han, Feng-Min Li
Summary: The application of plastic film mulching affects PAEs concentrations in soil-crop system, but the risks to people eating crop products are relatively low.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Changcai Wu, Xianpeng Song, Dan Wang, Yajie Ma, Xiangliang Ren, Hongyan Hu, Yongpan Shan, Xiaoyan Ma, Jinjie Cui, Yan Ma
Summary: Long-term microplastic pollution affects the distribution of heavy metals and their resistance genes in soil. The resistance genes form a modular distribution and co-occur with mobile genetic elements. The distribution of resistance genes is influenced by heavy metals, microbial communities, and mobile genetic elements. The synergistic effect of microplastics and heavy metals should be considered in soil remediation.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yongbin Li, Wenlong Gao, Caixia Wang, Miao Gao
Summary: The widespread use of plastic film has led to white pollution in greenhouse farmlands. Previous studies have mainly focused on the overall microbial community, with little attention given to the rare and abundant taxa, particularly in terrestrial ecosystems. By analyzing plastic film residues collected from plastic-covered soils in greenhouses, we found significant differences in the alpha- and beta-diversities of abundant and rare taxa between the plastisphere and surrounding soils. The plastisphere exhibited a less complex network, more competitive connections, and more modules compared to surrounding soils, with rare taxa playing a greater role.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Liyuan Liu, Guoyuan Zou, Qiang Zuo, Chuanzong Li, Jialin Gu, Lingyun Kang, Maoting Ma, Kengyu Liang, Dongsheng Liu, Lianfeng Du
Summary: Biodegradable mulch film (BDM) is considered as an environmentally sustainable alternative to low density polyethylene (LDPE) mulch film. However, the low degradation rate of BDM resulted in residues in soil after service period which were similar to LDPE mulch film. Distinguishing the differential responses of crop growth, soil bacteria and metabolism to residues of BDM and LDPE mulch films is favourable for comparing the environmental toxicities of the two materials.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Zunqiu Xu, Rony Wallach, Jian Song, Xiaomin Mao
Summary: Plastic film mulching is a widely used agricultural practice in arid/cold regions. This study investigated the impact of different plastic film colours and perforations on energy distribution, soil temperature, and evaporation. A soil-mulch-atmosphere system (SMAS) model was established to simulate soil evaporation and energy distribution, and the results were compared with measurements. The study found that the transmittance and perforation ratio of the plastic film were positively related to available net energy, which influenced soil temperature and altered energy distribution. Furthermore, considering heat conduction between the plastic mulch and the soil surface was found to be important for understanding the mechanism of plastic film mulching, particularly at night.
