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Increasing concentration of pure micro- and macro-LDPE and PP plastic negatively affect crop biomass, nutrient cycling, and microbial biomass
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Increasing concentration of pure micro- and macro-LDPE and PP plastic negatively affect crop biomass, nutrient cycling, and microbial biomass

Martine Graf, Lucy M. Greenfield, Michaela K. Reay, Rafael Bargiela, Gwion B. Williams, Charles Onyije, Charlotte E.M. Lloyd, Ian D. Bull, Richard P. Evershed, Peter N. Golyshin, …
Journal of hazardous materials, Vol.458, 131932
2023
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Published5.09 MBDownloadView
CC BY V4.0 Open Access

Abstract

Enzyme activity Microbial diversity Nutrient use efficiency Plastic pollution PLFAs
Over the last 50 years, the intense use of agricultural plastic in the form of mulch films has led to an accumulation of plastic in soil, creating a legacy of plastic in agricultural fields. Plastic often contains additives, however it is still largely unknown how these compounds affect soil properties, potentially influencing or masking effects of the plastic itself. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pure plastics of varying sizes and concentrations, to improve our understanding of plastic-only interactions within soil-plant mesocosms. Maize (Zea mays L.) was grown over eight weeks following the addition of micro and macro low-density polyethylene and polypropylene at increasing concentrations (equivalent to 1, 10, 25, and 50 years mulch film use) and the effects of plastic on key soil and plant properties were measured. We found the effect of both macro and microplastic on soil and plant health is negligible in the short-term (1 to <10 years). However, ≥ 10 years of plastic application for both plastic types and sizes resulted in a clear negative effect on plant growth and microbial biomass. This study provides vital insight into the effect of both macro and microplastics on soil and plant properties. [Display omitted]

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#6 Clean Water and Sanitation
#11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
#12 Responsible Consumption & Production
#14 Life Below Water

Source: InCites

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InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Citation topics
3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
3.60 Herbicides, Pesticides & Ground Poisoning
3.60.2078 Microplastics
Web Of Science research areas
Engineering, Environmental
Environmental Sciences
ESI research areas
Engineering
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