Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Large Scale Agricultural Plastic Mulch Detecting and Monitoring with Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data: A Case Study in Xinjiang, China

Satellite imagery was used to monitor plastic mulch film coverage across large agricultural areas in China, mapping both spatial extent and temporal changes. Accurately tracking plastic mulch use is important because agricultural film residues are a major source of microplastic contamination in farmland soils.

2019 Remote Sensing 57 citations
Article Tier 2

Time Series approach to map areas of Agricultural Plastic Waste generation

Researchers applied a time-series remote sensing approach to map the spatial distribution of agricultural plastic waste generation across extensive agricultural landscapes, using satellite imagery to detect plastic-mulched farmlands and other agri-plastics to address the lack of comprehensive plasticulture data needed for effective waste management and land-use policy.

2024 ISPRS annals of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences
Article Tier 2

Agricultural plastic mulching as a source of microplastics in the terrestrial environment

Researchers analyzed 384 soil samples from 19 Chinese provinces and found that macroplastic fragments were concentrated in agricultural fields with plastic mulch film use, providing large-scale field evidence linking agricultural mulching to terrestrial plastic contamination.

2020 Environmental Pollution 1205 citations
Article Tier 2

Duration- and area-dependent influences of plastic film mulch on soil microplastics abundance

Researchers conducted a field campaign combined with remote sensing to investigate how the duration and coverage area of plastic film mulching affect microplastic abundance in agricultural soils in northern China's agro-pastoral ecotone, finding that microplastic concentrations ranged from 41.7 to 787.5 items per kilogram and positively correlated with mulching duration.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials
Article Tier 2

Remote sensing detection of plastic-mulched farmland using a temporal approach in machine learning: case study in tomato crops

Researchers tested machine learning classifiers on Sentinel-2 satellite time-series images to map plastic-mulched farmlands, achieving 99.7% accuracy using a multilayer perceptron model and demonstrating that a 3-image composite series reduces confusion with background vegetation — producing the first plastic mulch map for Latin America.

2024 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Contribution of mulch film to microplastics in agricultural soil and surface water in China

Researchers developed a framework to quantify how much agricultural mulch film contributes to microplastic contamination in farmland soil and surface water in China, measuring the ratio of mulch-derived particles to total microplastics from all sources.

2021 Environmental Pollution 119 citations
Article Tier 2

Spatio-temporal dynamics of plastic mulch use in crop rotation at parcel and regional scales

Researchers used satellite data to track where and when farmers applied plastic mulch on agricultural fields in a European region from 2017 to 2021, finding that silage maize and asparagus fields most frequently used plastic mulch. Their analysis also revealed that 70% of maize plots used plastic mulch four or more years in a row, raising concerns about long-term plastic accumulation in agricultural soils.

2024 International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Accumulation in Agricultural Soils with Different Mulching Histories in Xinjiang, China

Researchers found that microplastic accumulation in agricultural soils of Xinjiang, China increases significantly with mulching history, with fields mulched for over 20 years containing substantially more microplastics across all soil layers.

2023 Sustainability 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Cropland Microplastics in Xinjiang: Unveiling Distribution and Impact of Mulching Film Residues

This study assessed microplastic distribution and the contribution of agricultural mulching film residues across croplands in Xinjiang, China, finding widespread polyethylene microplastic contamination that correlates with mulch film use intensity and poses risks to soil health and food safety.

2024
Article Tier 2

Plastic film residues on cropland: monitoring soil contamination through optical remote sensing

Researchers used optical remote sensing to monitor plastic film residues on agricultural cropland, demonstrating that satellite-based methods can detect surface plastic contamination across large areas. The study provides a scalable approach for tracking agricultural plastic residues — a major secondary microplastic source in soils — without the labor intensity of field sampling.

2025
Article Tier 2

Potential sources and occurrence of macro-plastics and microplastics pollution in farmland soils: A typical case of China

This review examines plastic pollution in Chinese farmland soils, finding that agricultural practices like mulch film use and sewage sludge application are major sources of both macro- and microplastics that accumulate over time.

2023 Figshare
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

Impact of plastic film mulching on microplastic in farmland soils in Guangdong province, China

Researchers surveyed farmland in Guangdong, China's largest economic province, to determine how much plastic mulch film contributes to soil microplastic pollution. They found that fields using plastic mulch had significantly higher microplastic levels than those without, and the contamination correlated with years of mulch use. The study helps clarify the direct agricultural contribution to soil microplastic pollution in regions with many overlapping pollution sources.

2023 Heliyon 55 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence characteristics, source analysis, and risk assessment of microplastics in agricultural soils: A case study on Shihezi Reclamation Area, Xinjiang, China

Microplastic occurrence was characterized in agricultural soils of the Shihezi Reclamation Area, Xinjiang — a region with decades of plastic film mulching — finding high-density PE and PP fragments as dominant types, with mulch film degradation as the primary source.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment
Article Tier 2

Abundance and characteristics of microplastics in soils with different agricultural practices: Importance of sources with internal origin and environmental fate

Microplastic abundance and characteristics were examined in soils representing four agricultural practice types in Chinese farmland to evaluate the influence of land use on plastic particle accumulation. Microplastic concentrations and polymer types varied by agricultural practice, with plastic mulch film use and irrigation water source as key drivers of farmland soil contamination.

2020 Journal of Hazardous Materials 282 citations
Article Tier 2

Distribution of microplastics in mulched soil in Xinjiang, China

Researchers measured microplastic distribution in plastic-mulched farmland soils in Xinjiang, China, finding that plastic particles concentrate in the top soil layer where mulch films fragment. The dominant polymer found was polyethylene, consistent with the plastic mulch films widely used in agriculture across the region.

2021 International journal of agricultural and biological engineering 18 citations
Article Tier 2

A New Method for Detecting Plastic-Mulched Land Using GF-2 Imagery

Researchers developed a new remote sensing method for detecting plastic-mulched agricultural land using GF-2 satellite imagery by introducing a K-T transform component specifically enhanced for plastic identification. The method was combined with texture metrics and spectral bands in an object-oriented classification approach. The study demonstrates improved accuracy in mapping plastic mulch coverage, which is important for monitoring agricultural plastic waste that contributes to soil microplastic pollution.

2025 Applied Sciences 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Distinct microplastic distributions in soils of different land-use types: A case study of Chinese farmlands

Microplastic distribution across six types of farmland land use was surveyed from soils in five Chinese provinces to determine how agricultural practices shape soil microplastic contamination. The study found that microplastic abundance varied significantly by land-use type, with plastic mulch film use and irrigation practices as key contributing factors.

2020 Environmental Pollution 278 citations
Article Tier 2

Mapping of Agricultural Plastics Pollution in Soil: case study of Italy, France and Norway

Researchers developed an atlas quantifying and localizing agricultural plastic waste in Italy, France, and Norway, finding that plastic mulch films and other agricultural plastics accumulate in soils and generate microplastic contamination that varies significantly by crop type, climate, and waste management practices.

2025 CINECA IRIS Institutional Research Information System (University of Bari Aldo Moro)
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution In Agricultural Lands And Its Environmental Impact Assessed Through Remote Sensing

Researchers combined field sampling and remote sensing to assess microplastic pollution in agricultural soils across three Indian locations, finding microplastics in both surface and subsurface layers and correlating pollution levels with land use patterns detectable by satellite imagery.

2025 International Journal of Environmental Sciences
Article Tier 2

Occurrence and characteristics of microplastics in soils from greenhouse and open-field cultivation using plastic mulch film

Researchers surveyed microplastic contamination in agricultural soils across three regions in China, comparing greenhouse and open-field cultivation that uses plastic mulch film. They found that microplastic abundance varied significantly by region and that the type of mulching practice accounted for over 34% of the variation in microplastic composition. The study provides important baseline data on how plastic film use in farming contributes to soil microplastic pollution.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 51 citations
Article Tier 2

Occurrence of Microplastics from Plastic Fragments in Cultivated Soil of Sichuan Province: The Key Controls

Researchers surveyed plastic fragment contamination in 20 mulched agricultural farmlands across Sichuan Province, China, finding abundances ranging from 50 to 1,158 particles per kilogram. A random forest model identified total mulch film amount, annual precipitation, and planting pattern as the key controls on fragment abundance.

2022 Water 15 citations
Article Tier 2

The Use and Recycling of Agricultural Plastic Mulch in China: A Review

This review examines the widespread use of plastic mulch in Chinese agriculture, where adoption ranks first globally, along with the severe farmland pollution caused by residual plastic film. Researchers summarize the types of mulch used, the environmental damage from accumulation in soil, and current recycling practices. The study discusses government policies and farmer practices aimed at addressing plastic mulch pollution and offers reference points for other countries facing similar challenges.

2023 Sustainability 33 citations
Article Tier 2

Temporal and Spatial Distribution of Residual Film in Soil Profile under Continuous Film Mulching

Eight years of continuous plastic mulch film use on Chinese farmland steadily increased the number of plastic fragments in soil, with smaller pieces migrating progressively deeper over time even as total plastic mass slowly declined. The finding that fragments accumulate below 10 cm — beyond the reach of most tillage — highlights how agricultural microplastic pollution can become entrenched and difficult to remediate.

2023 Sustainability 6 citations