Papers

61,005 results
|
Article Tier 2

Effects of Biodegradable Film and Polyethylene Film Residues on Soil Moisture and Maize Productivity in Dryland

Researchers found that biodegradable agricultural films are a viable alternative to conventional polyethylene mulch films, with higher degradation rates and less impact on soil moisture and maize root growth, ultimately improving grain yield and water use efficiency over a two-year field experiment.

2023 Agriculture 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Consequences of 33 Years of Plastic Film Mulching and Nitrogen Fertilization on Maize Growth and Soil Quality

Researchers found that after 33 years of continuous plastic film mulching, residual microplastics in soil persisted even after mulching stopped, though soil moisture and crop yields were still influenced by the legacy effects of long-term mulch use and nitrogen fertilization.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution of soil water and nitrate in furrow irrigation under different plastic mulch placement conditions for a maize crop: Field and modelling study

This study examined how the placement of plastic mulch in furrow irrigation systems affects soil water distribution and nitrate leaching in maize fields. While plastic mulch improves crop yields, its fragmentation over time is a recognized source of agricultural microplastic pollution.

2021 International Agrophysics 8 citations
Article Tier 2

The effects of biodegradable mulch film on the growth, yield, and water use efficiency of cotton and maize in an arid region

Researchers compared biodegradable and conventional plastic mulch films in Chinese agriculture, finding that biodegradable films improved water use efficiency and crop yield comparably to conventional plastic while reducing long-term plastic accumulation in soil. Degradable mulch films represent a promising strategy to reduce agricultural microplastic pollution.

2019 17 citations
Article Tier 2

The Effects of Biodegradable Mulch Film on the Growth, Yield, and Water Use Efficiency of Cotton and Maize in an Arid Region

Biodegradable mulch film maintained crop growth and water use efficiency comparable to conventional polyethylene film in Chinese cotton and maize fields for the first 60 days, then began to degrade. Replacing conventional plastic mulch with biodegradable alternatives could reduce microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils.

2019 Sustainability 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?

This study examined plastic mulch use in agriculture, arguing that short-term crop benefits come with long-term costs as mulch fragments accumulate in soil as microplastics and disrupt soil structure, biology, and water dynamics.

2016 The Science of The Total Environment 1452 citations
Article Tier 2

Macro and microplastics in agricultural soils after use of conventional and biodegradable plastics

Researchers sampled 38 agricultural fields where conventional polyethylene mulching films, polypropylene weed fabrics, biodegradable PBAT films, and frost covers had been used, quantifying macro- and microplastic contamination in soils to assess how different agricultural plastic products contribute to soil plastic pollution.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Agricultural plastic films reshape soil microplastic distribution, nitrogen cycle and ecological risks in facility agriculture

Researchers compared microplastic characteristics in protected agriculture systems and traditional farmland soils in China, finding significantly higher microplastic abundance in mulched farmland and documenting correlations between microplastic presence and altered soil nitrogen cycling and heavy metal distribution.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Mulching on Maize Yield and Evapotranspiration in the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

This study examined how plastic film mulching affects maize yield and water use in northwest China's Heihe River Basin, finding that mulching increases yields and reduces evaporation. However, widespread plastic mulch use is also a major source of microplastic pollution in agricultural soils.

2022 Remote Sensing 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Management Strategies on Reducing of Mulching Film Residues Pollution in Arid Regions

Researchers examined the impact of different management strategies — including increased polyethylene film recycling rates and adoption of biodegradable mulch films — on reducing mulching film residue pollution in arid agricultural regions. The study found that combining recycling incentives with biodegradable film adoption significantly reduced soil plastic accumulation, supporting sustainable agricultural development in water-limited dryland farming systems.

2024 Sustainability
Article Tier 2

Is mulch film itself the primary source of meso- and microplastics in the mulching cultivated soil? A preliminary field study with econometric methods

A field study examined whether mulch films were the primary source of meso- and microplastics in mulched agricultural soils using econometric methods to compare plastic-mulched and non-mulched fields, finding that while mulch contributed to soil plastic loads, it was not the sole source. The study challenges the assumption that plastic mulch is always the dominant microplastic source in farmed soils.

2022 Environmental Pollution 66 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Future Climate Change on Spring Maize Yield and Water Use Efficiency under Film Mulching with Different Materials in the LOESS Plateau Region of China

Researchers used the DNDC biogeochemical model to evaluate effects of future climate change (2021-2100) on spring maize yield and water use efficiency under polyethylene film mulching and biodegradable film mulching in China's Loess Plateau, finding that biodegradable films can maintain yields while reducing plastic pollution under projected warming and increased rainfall.

2023 Agriculture 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects of Different Mulch Types on Farmland Soil Moisture in an Artificial Oasis Area

Not relevant to microplastics — this study compares how different mulch materials (including conventional polyethylene plastic films) affect soil moisture retention in an arid farming region of China, focusing on water management rather than plastic fragmentation or microplastic contamination.

2023 Land 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring the Occurrence Characteristics of Microplastics in Typical Maize Farmland Soils With Long-Term Plastic Film Mulching in Northern China

A survey of 225 soil samples from maize farmland with long-term plastic film mulching in northern China found widespread microplastic contamination, with abundance, distribution, and polymer composition reflecting the history of film use and agricultural management practices.

2021 Frontiers in Marine Science 76 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics in agricultural soils: Extraction and characterization after different periods of polythene film mulching in an arid region

Researchers developed a new method to extract microplastics from agricultural soil and found that fields mulched with plastic film for 30 years had the highest microplastic concentrations, at 40 mg per kilogram of soil, with particle size decreasing as the years of mulching increased. The study highlights the long-term accumulation of microplastics in soils under continuous plastic film agriculture.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 256 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental risk of multi-year polythene film mulching and its green solution in arid irrigation region

Researchers found that 19 years of polythene film mulching accumulated up to 2,900 microplastic particles per kilogram of soil along with elevated plasticizer concentrations, and demonstrated that biodegradable film alternatives could significantly reduce this environmental contamination.

2022 Journal of Hazardous Materials 100 citations
Article Tier 2

Estimating the potential of climatic factors for global generation of microplastics from agricultural plastic films

Researchers combined national agricultural plastic film usage data with emission factor models and Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the global generation of microplastics from agricultural films. The resulting estimates highlight the large but uncertain scale of this contamination source for soil and food security.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Effects of different mulch materials on the photosynthetic characteristics, yield, and soil water use efficiency of wheat in Loess tableland

Not relevant to microplastics — this agricultural study compares different mulching materials (including plastic film) on wheat yield and water use efficiency in the Loess Plateau of China, with no focus on microplastic pollution from plastic mulch.

2023 Scientific Reports 6 citations
Article Tier 2

[Occurrence and Characteristics of Macro/Micro-plastics and Phthalates in Soils Under Different Plastic Film Mulching].

Researchers assessed residual characteristics of macroplastics, microplastics, and phthalate plasticizers in agricultural soils under different plastic film mulching treatments over a three-year field experiment, comparing traditional PE film with three types of biodegradable mulch and a no-mulch control. The study examined whether biodegradable film substitution effectively reduces soil plastic and PAE residual pollution.

2025 PubMed
Article Tier 2

The field mulching could improve sustainability of spring maize production on the Loess Plateau

This study evaluated field mulching impacts on yield stability, soil water storage, nitrogen budget, and soil total nitrogen in spring maize production on the Loess Plateau over multiple years, finding that plastic film mulching improved productivity but raised concerns about microplastic accumulation and nitrogen cycling disruption.

2023 Agricultural Water Management 27 citations
Article Tier 2

Size-dependent effects of oxo-degradable plastic contamination on soil quality and the growth of $lt;I$gt;Zea mays$lt;/I$gt;

Researchers evaluated how different concentrations of oxo-degradable plastic mulch film fragments affect soil quality and maize (Zea mays) growth, examining whether these supposedly more sustainable plastics pose different risks than conventional agricultural plastics.

2025 Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering
Article Tier 2

Agricultural mulch films as soil microplastic contamination factor

This review examines agricultural mulch films as a source of soil microplastic contamination, summarizing evidence on degradation rates, particle accumulation in soil profiles, and impacts on soil properties and biological communities over time.

2024
Article Tier 2

LDPE and biodegradable plastics differentially affect plant-soil nitrogen partitioning and microbial uptake

Researchers found that both conventional LDPE and biodegradable plastics at concentrations simulating years of mulch film use altered nitrogen cycling in agricultural soil, reducing microbial nitrogen uptake and affecting nitrogen partitioning between soil and plant biomass without significantly harming barley growth.

2023
Article Tier 2

Plastic film mulching and microplastics impact soil nitrogen processes

This review examines how plastic film mulching practices introduce microplastic contamination into farmland soils and how accumulated microplastics alter soil nitrogen cycling processes — including nitrification, denitrification, and nitrogen fixation — with implications for crop growth and long-term agricultural sustainability.

2025 Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering