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The persistently breaking trade-offs of three-decade plastic film mulching: Microplastic pollution, soil degradation and reduced cotton yield

Journal of Hazardous Materials 2022 44 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 45 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.

Bingshen Liu, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Bingshen Liu, Bingshen Liu, Bingshen Liu, Bingshen Liu, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Wenfeng Li, Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Bingshen Liu, Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Bingshen Liu, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Bingshen Liu, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Bingshen Liu, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Daoyong Zhang, Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan Xiangliang Pan

Summary

A study of cotton fields in northwest China with 3-32 years of continuous plastic mulch use found that microplastic abundance in soil increased exponentially with mulching duration, while soil physical properties degraded and cotton root traits and yields declined in heavily mulched plots. The results challenge the assumed economic trade-off of plastic mulching, suggesting decades of cumulative MP pollution eventually costs more in yield than it provides in early-season benefits.

Plastic mulching has been extensively used for near 40 years in China because of the commonly recognized trade-offs between economic profit and adverse impacts. Whether the trade-offs is well kept after decades of mulching usage is poorly understood. In this study, microplastic (MP) pollution, soil physical properties, as well as the root traits and yields of cotton under plastic mulching for different years (up to 32 years) in northwest China were investigated. The results showed that average abundance of MPs in soil ranged from 28.00 to 1426.67 items kg and increased with time whereas size of MPs decreased with time. With respect to soil physical properties, bulk density and penetration resistance significantly increased with mulching time while saturated hydraulic conductivity and mean weight diameter of water-stable aggregates in cotton fields decreased over time, indicating that long-term plastic mulching has irreversible adverse impact on soil function. The significantly increased soil penetration resistance and decreased hydraulic conductivity substantially restricted root growth and this finally led to remarkable reduction of seed cotton yield. It is urgent for the agricultural departments to take appropriate measures to mitigate the constantly increased negative trade-offs of plastic mulching in the arid areas.

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