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Effects of mulching film on soil microbial diversity and community of cotton
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Researchers compared how traditional polyethylene (PE) plastic mulch and biodegradable PBAT mulch affect soil microbes in Chinese cotton fields. PBAT mulch significantly altered the diversity of soil fungi — particularly boosting Gibellulopsis — while neither type of mulch strongly affected bacterial diversity, suggesting biodegradable mulch changes the soil ecosystem in ways that need further study.
Different types of mulching film could variously influence soil properties and plant growth. Yet, surprisingly few studies have investigated the effects of mulching film upon soil microbial diversity and community structure. In this research, two kinds of mulching film, a traditional PE (polyethylene) mulching film and a degradable PBAT ((Poly [butyleneadipate-co-terephthalate])) mulching film, were applied to cotton (Gossypium spp.) plants grown in Xinjiang Province, China. The respective influence of the two mulching films on the cotton's soil microbial (bacteria and fungi) diversity and community were investigated. The results showed that applying the PBAT mulching film could significantly alter the diversity of non-rhizosphere soil fungi when compared to using the PE mulching film. However, neither the PE nor PBAT mulching film had any significant influence on the diversity of soil bacteria and rhizosphere soil fungi. Nevertheless, soil microbial community composition differed under the PBAT mulching film treatment vis-à-vis the PE mulching film treatment. The abundance of Gibellulopsis was higher under the PBAT than PE mulching film treatment. Our study's findings provided an empirical basis for the further application of degradable PBAT mulching film for the sustainable development of cotton crops.
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Effects of residual mulching films with different mulching years on the diversity of soil microbial communities in typical regions
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Researchers examined four cotton fields in Xinjiang, China with varying polyethylene mulch film histories (0-25 years) using high-throughput sequencing to assess how residual film and microplastics affect soil microbial communities. They found that short-term mulching (0-10 years) increased microbial diversity while continuous 25-year mulching significantly decreased bacterial diversity, with Proteobacteria and Ascomycetes dominating, and residual film accumulation reducing bacterial community diversity without significantly impacting fungal diversity.
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