TY - JOUR
T1 - Long-term plastic film mulching promotes microplastic accumulation and alters gross nitrogen transformation in soil
AU - Zhang, Jinrui
AU - Wang, Kai
AU - Hao, Tianxiang
AU - Zhang, Jinbo
AU - Müller, Christoph
AU - Florent, Perrine
AU - Yan, Hong
AU - Ren, Siyang
AU - Qu, Kaijing
AU - Ren, Kaige
AU - Li, Jingjing
AU - Su, Yiting
AU - Ding, Fan
AU - Wang, Jingkuan
AU - Wang, Xihe
AU - Chen, Yanling
AU - Lv, Shihua
AU - Chadwick, David R.
AU - Jones, Davey L.
AU - Liu, Xuejun
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42277097), the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund project “Do agricultural microplastics undermine food security and sustainable development in less economically developed countries?” (NE/V005871/1), the Science and Technology Major Project of Ordos, China (NO. ZD20232320), Professor station of China Agricultural University at Xinzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFD1900604).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
PY - 2025/4
Y1 - 2025/4
N2 - While long-term plastic film mulching (LFM) of farmland can improve the yield and quality of crops, it also poses ecological risks through the accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in soil and alterations in soil nitrogen (N) cycling. However, no systematic studies (based on long-term experiments) have studied the effects of LFM on both soil MPs accumulation and gross N transformations. In this study, topsoils (0–20 cm) were collected from four LFM farmlands in Xinjiang, Liaoning, Sichuan, and Shandong provinces of China. The 15N isotope pool dilution method and Ntracebasic model were applied to quantify the impact of LFM on soil gross N transformation rates. Our results showed that LFM significantly increased the accumulation of MPs, particularly in the 0–10 cm layer. The gross N transformation rates varied among sites, reflecting regional differences in soil type. Mineralization rates increased in Xinjiang, Liaoning, and Sichuan under LFM, while microbial assimilation and autotrophic nitrification decreased in Xinjiang. In Sichuan, reduced soil nitrification potential led to low levels of mineral N (NH4+-N and NO3−-N) retention. Furthermore, in Shandong, LFM decreased the mineralization potential of recalcitrant organic N but significantly enhanced heterotrophic nitrification. To improve predictions of agroecosystem N cycling, we show with this study that it is important to consider soil differences which drive gross N transformation rates associated with LFM.
AB - While long-term plastic film mulching (LFM) of farmland can improve the yield and quality of crops, it also poses ecological risks through the accumulation of microplastics (MPs) in soil and alterations in soil nitrogen (N) cycling. However, no systematic studies (based on long-term experiments) have studied the effects of LFM on both soil MPs accumulation and gross N transformations. In this study, topsoils (0–20 cm) were collected from four LFM farmlands in Xinjiang, Liaoning, Sichuan, and Shandong provinces of China. The 15N isotope pool dilution method and Ntracebasic model were applied to quantify the impact of LFM on soil gross N transformation rates. Our results showed that LFM significantly increased the accumulation of MPs, particularly in the 0–10 cm layer. The gross N transformation rates varied among sites, reflecting regional differences in soil type. Mineralization rates increased in Xinjiang, Liaoning, and Sichuan under LFM, while microbial assimilation and autotrophic nitrification decreased in Xinjiang. In Sichuan, reduced soil nitrification potential led to low levels of mineral N (NH4+-N and NO3−-N) retention. Furthermore, in Shandong, LFM decreased the mineralization potential of recalcitrant organic N but significantly enhanced heterotrophic nitrification. To improve predictions of agroecosystem N cycling, we show with this study that it is important to consider soil differences which drive gross N transformation rates associated with LFM.
KW - 15N tracing technology
KW - Long-term plastic film mulching
KW - Microplastics residue
KW - Soil gross N transformations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85219135385&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106007
DO - 10.1016/j.apsoil.2025.106007
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85219135385
SN - 0929-1393
VL - 208
JO - Applied Soil Ecology
JF - Applied Soil Ecology
M1 - 106007
ER -
