Abstract
Plastic residues have become a serious environmental problem in the regions with intensive use of plastic mulching. Even though plastic mulch is widely used, the effects of macro- and micro- plastic residues on the soil-plant system and the agroecosystem are largely unknown. In this study, low density polyethylene and one type of starch-based biodegradable plastic mulch film were selected and used as examples of macro- and micro- sized plastic residues. A pot experiment was performed in a climate chamber to determine what effect mixing 1% concentration of residues of these plastics with sandy soil would have on wheat growth in the presence and absence of earthworms. The results showed that macro- and micro- plastic residues affected both above-ground and below-ground parts of the wheat plant during both vegetative and reproductive growth. The type of plastic mulch films used had a strong effect on wheat growth with the biodegradable plastic mulch showing stronger negative effects as compared to polyethylene. The presence of earthworms had an overall positive effect on the wheat growth and chiefly alleviated the impairments made by plastic residues.
Highlights
Microplastic pollution has been a hot topic since 2004 when Thompson et al (2004) published a paper describing the distribution of microscopic plastic debris in seawater (Thompson et al, 2004)
The presence of earthworms had an overall positive effect on the wheat growth and alleviated the impairments made by plastic residues
Looking back at the original hypotheses, several key findings emerged from this study: 1) type of plastic mulch films has strong effects on wheat growth with the biodegradable film showing stronger negative effects compared to polyethylene; 2) size of plastic residues has weak effects on wheat growth with microplastics showing more negative effects than macroplastics; 3) presence/absence of earthworms has strong effects on plant growth and the presence of earthworms positively altered wheat growth status and alleviated the impairments made by plastic residues; 4) neither the interactions between two factors nor the interaction among three factors is notable in this experiment
Summary
Microplastic pollution has been a hot topic since 2004 when Thompson et al (2004) published a paper describing the distribution of microscopic plastic debris in seawater (Thompson et al, 2004). Even though biodegradable plastic mulch films were invented in an attempt to decrease plastic residues in agricultural land and touted as promising alternatives to traditional polyethylene mulch films, these seemingly more environmentally friendly films have aroused debate concerning their use (Changrong et al, 2014; Moreno et al, 2017; Ren, 2003; Sintim and Flury, 2017; Yang et al, 2014)
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