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Distribution characteristics of plastic film residue in long-term mulched farmland soil
Summary
Long-term plastic mulch in Chinese cotton fields builds up 78 microplastic particles per 100g of soil down to 60cm depth, all matching polyethylene. - 64867 — Microplastics are found throughout the ocean and in human bodies; scientists are still determining how harmful exposures may be. - 50228 — Electrochemical coagulation removed 98% of microplastics from agricultural runoff water within 45 minutes. - 49990 — Korean greenhouse and plastic-mulched farmland soils showed similar levels of microplastic contamination, dominated by tiny fragments under 300 micrometers. - 49896 — Microplastics in paddy soil reduced available nitrogen by up to 80% while slightly boosting enzyme activity, potentially affecting rice crop nutrition. - 81423 — Steel deformation during high-temperature stress relaxation differs by material: intergranular in pure iron, intragranular in hardened chromium steels. - 49437 — Even remote areas in New York's Finger Lakes receive microplastics via both rainfall and direct airfall. - 49350 — Microplastics alter how oil spills disperse in seawater, potentially complicating cleanup of marine oil spill events. - 49342 — Microplastics are entering karst cave systems that supply roughly a quarter of global drinking water. - 49339 — Atlantic mackerel and horse mackerel may selectively ingest microplastics mistaken for prey, concentrating plastics in commercially fished species. - 49311 — Weathering/aging changes PET plastic properties enough that calibration with pristine PET may not accurately measure aged microplastics. - 49155 — Computer simulations show microplastic particle shape heavily influences whether they sink or float, helping predict where plastics accumulate in water. - 48950 — Microplastics were identified in largemouth bass stomachs from the Mid-Atlantic using infrared microscopy. - 48816 — Certain bacteria can degrade or remediate micro- and nanoplastics in soil, offering a potential biological cleanup approach. - 48806 — Urban waterways are accumulating microplastics that act as carriers for toxic chemicals, compounding environmental risks. - 48805 — Case study of Brisbane River shows microplastics accumulate in urban river sediments and can be transported downstream. - 48434 — Microplastics in soil alter structure, nutrient movement, and may be taken up by plants, raising food supply contamination concerns. - 48295 — Overview of microplastic generation sources, detection methods, and mitigation strategies across different environments. - 48241 — Nanotechnology-based approaches using engineered nanomaterials may help accelerate breakdown of persistent plastic pollution. - 48130 — Microplastics in soil carry co-pollutants like pesticides and heavy metals, potentially amplifying combined contamination risks. - 48070 — Widespread microplastic contamination documented in Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria, threatening marine life and communities dependent on the lagoon. - 48033 — Single-use plastic straws on an Indonesian beach were observed breaking down into microplastics through UV, wave action, and abrasion. - 48021 — Non-degrading plastics accumulate for centuries; the Great Pacific Garbage Patch holds 79,000 tonnes of floating plastic across 1.6 million km². - 47973 — Microplastics found everywhere act as carriers for toxic pollutants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, potentially delivering concentrated chemical doses to wildlife and humans. - 47966 — Review of environmental impacts of common plastic types and emerging degradation strategies amid worsening global plastic accumulation. - 60976 — Naturally derived adsorbents from plants and minerals can capture microplastics and other emerging contaminants from water and soil. - 59706 — Synthetic textile fibers shed during washing enter waterways in vast quantities, representing a major underappreciated source of microfiber pollution. - 59631 — Nanoplastics may disrupt gut microbiome and through the gut-brain axis potentially contribute to neurodegeneration, though the pathway remains preliminary. - 59219 — Microplastic ocean pollution directly undermines UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 (life below water) and threatens global marine biodiversity efforts. - 59702 — Detecting and assessing the toxicity of emerging pollutants including microplastics remains technically difficult, limiting understanding of their true environmental impact.
Soil contamination from film debris following the prolonged application of mulching film has emerged as a worldwide concern. However, the extent that mulching films contribute to soil microplastics, and the spatial distribution of soil contamination from film debris remain unclear. In this study, the cotton field in Xinjiang (China), which underwent film mulching for a prolonged period of 5–30 years, was selected as the research location. A total of 360 soil samples were collected, aiming to study the spatial distribution characteristics of mulching film debris pollution. The samples were extracted using the density flotation method combined with stereomicroscopic; the source, composition, abundance, and distribution characteristics of soil MPs were identified by the scanning electron microscopic, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses. In soil mulched for a 30 year period, the abundance of microplastics across the studied soil depth (0–60 cm) was 78.51±2.57 n/(100 g). The μ-FTIR analyses revealed that the composition of the microplastics matched that of polyethylene materials. Therefore, plastic mulching could be inferred as a major contributor to microplastic pollution in agricultural lands. Overall, it is necessary to study the distribution characteristics of plastic film remaining for further study of plastic pollution in farmland soils.