Agricultural plastic mulching as a source of microplastics in the terrestrial environment - PubMed (original) (raw)
Agricultural plastic mulching as a source of microplastics in the terrestrial environment
Yi Huang et al. Environ Pollut. 2020 May.
Abstract
Plastic mulching is suspected to be a significant source of microplastics in terrestrial environments owing to its intensive application and improper disposal. However, there has been a comparative lack of studies examining this hypothesis. In this study, the occurrence of macroplastics in agricultural soils was investigated by analysing 384 soil samples collected from 19 provinces across China. Additionally, the abundance of microplastics was investigated in potential hotspots that have carried out plastic mulching for over 30 years. Macroplastic concentrations in the soil samples ranged from 0.1 to 324.5 kg/ha, with an average of 83.6 kg/ha; the concentrations were higher in western China than in eastern China. A highly significant linear correlation (R2 = 0.61) was found between the consumption of mulching film and the plastic residue in soils, indicating plastic film mulching may be a major source of macroplastics. The abundances of microplastic particles increased over time in the locations where plastic mulching was continuously employed, with concentrations of 80.3 ± 49.3, 308 ± 138.1, and 1075.6 ± 346.8 pieces/kg soil in fields with 5, 15, and 24 y of continuous mulching, respectively. Fourier transform infrared analyses revealed that the composition of the microplastics matched that of the mulching films, suggesting the microplastic particles originated from the mulching films. These findings confirm that plastic mulching is an important source of macroplastic and microplastic contamination in terrestrial environments. Further studies to investigate the microplastic hazards in soils are thus necessary.
Keywords: Microplastics; Mulching; Polyethylene; Quantification.
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Similar articles
- Macro- and microplastic accumulation in soil after 32 years of plastic film mulching.
Li S, Ding F, Flury M, Wang Z, Xu L, Li S, Jones DL, Wang J. Li S, et al. Environ Pollut. 2022 May 1;300:118945. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118945. Epub 2022 Feb 2. Environ Pollut. 2022. PMID: 35122919 - Microplastics in agricultural soils on the coastal plain of Hangzhou Bay, east China: Multiple sources other than plastic mulching film.
Zhou B, Wang J, Zhang H, Shi H, Fei Y, Huang S, Tong Y, Wen D, Luo Y, Barceló D. Zhou B, et al. J Hazard Mater. 2020 Apr 15;388:121814. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121814. Epub 2019 Dec 5. J Hazard Mater. 2020. PMID: 31843412 - Abundances of agricultural microplastics and their contribution to the soil organic carbon pool in plastic film mulching fields of Xinjiang, China.
Yu Y, Zhang Z, Zhang Y, Jia H, Li Y, Yao H. Yu Y, et al. Chemosphere. 2023 Mar;316:137837. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137837. Epub 2023 Jan 11. Chemosphere. 2023. PMID: 36640972 - Behavior of microplastics and plastic film residues in the soil environment: A critical review.
Qi R, Jones DL, Li Z, Liu Q, Yan C. Qi R, et al. Sci Total Environ. 2020 Feb 10;703:134722. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134722. Epub 2019 Oct 17. Sci Total Environ. 2020. PMID: 31767311 Review. - Microplastics in terrestrial ecosystem: Sources and migration in soil environment.
Surendran U, Jayakumar M, Raja P, Gopinath G, Chellam PV. Surendran U, et al. Chemosphere. 2023 Mar;318:137946. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137946. Epub 2023 Jan 25. Chemosphere. 2023. PMID: 36708782 Review.
Cited by
- Dose Effect of Polyethylene Microplastics Derived from Commercial Resins on Soil Properties, Bacterial Communities, and Enzymatic Activity.
Cruz LG, Shen FT, Chen CP, Chen WC. Cruz LG, et al. Microorganisms. 2024 Aug 29;12(9):1790. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms12091790. Microorganisms. 2024. PMID: 39338465 Free PMC article. - Types of vegetables shape composition, diversity, and co-occurrence networks of soil bacteria and fungi in karst areas of southwest China.
Wei X, Fu T, He G, Zhong Z, Yang M, Lou F, He T. Wei X, et al. BMC Microbiol. 2023 Jul 19;23(1):194. doi: 10.1186/s12866-023-02929-3. BMC Microbiol. 2023. PMID: 37468849 Free PMC article. - Biocomposites Based on Wheat Flour with Urea-Based Eutectic Plasticizer and Spent Coffee Grounds: Preparation, Physicochemical Characterization, and Study of Their Influence on Plant Growth.
Zdanowicz M, Rokosa M, Pieczykolan M, Antosik AK, Skórczewska K. Zdanowicz M, et al. Materials (Basel). 2024 Mar 6;17(5):1212. doi: 10.3390/ma17051212. Materials (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38473683 Free PMC article. - Effects of small ridge and furrow mulching degradable film on dry direct seeded rice.
Li H, Zeng S, Luo X, Fang L, Liang Z, Yang W. Li H, et al. Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 11;11(1):317. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79227-9. Sci Rep. 2021. PMID: 33431903 Free PMC article. - The future of the Black Sea: More pollution in over half of the rivers.
Strokal M, Strokal V, Kroeze C. Strokal M, et al. Ambio. 2023 Feb;52(2):339-356. doi: 10.1007/s13280-022-01780-6. Epub 2022 Sep 8. Ambio. 2023. PMID: 36074247 Free PMC article.