Effects of plastic film mulch biodegradability on nitrogen in the plant-soil system

A - Papers appearing in refereed journals

Wang, K., Wang, C., Chen, M., Misselbrook, T. H., Kuzyakov, Y., Soromotin, A., Dong, Q., Feng, H. and Jiang, R. 2022. Effects of plastic film mulch biodegradability on nitrogen in the plant-soil system. Science of the Total Environment. 833 (10 August), p. 155220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155220

AuthorsWang, K., Wang, C., Chen, M., Misselbrook, T. H., Kuzyakov, Y., Soromotin, A., Dong, Q., Feng, H. and Jiang, R.
Abstract

The application of biodegradable film mulching (BFM) instead of non-biodegradable film mulching (NBFM) is a promising way to mitigate the negative impacts of residual film in agricultural mulching systems. But the effects of BFM on soil mineral nitrogen (N) are not known. To investigate the effects of BFM on N mineralization, nitrate (NO3-) accumulation and leaching, and plant N uptake, we conducted two-year field experiment with five treatments: no-mulching (No-M), white non-biodegradable film mulching (White-NotBioM), black non-biodegradable film mulching (BlackNotBioM), white biodegradable film mulching (White-BioM), and black biodegradable film mulching (Black-BioM). The net N mineralization in NBFM was greater than that in BFM due to the disintegration of biodegradable films in the middle and late stages of maize growth, resulting in a decrease in soil water content under BFM. Higher net N mineralization caused a higher NO3- accumulation in the topsoil (0-20 cm) under NBFM. The NO3- accumulation in the topsoil in Black-NotBioM was 23-88% higher than that in Black-BioM; while in White-NotBioM it was 16-63% higher than that in White-BioM. After two years of cropping, the NO3- accumulation in 100-180 cm (defined as N leaching in deep layers, NLD) in NBFM was 52-63% higher than that in BFM, implying that the higher NO3- accumulation in the topsoil in NBFM caused more N leaching. The yields and plant N uptake were similar between NBFM and BFM, but BFM had higher N harvest index values. Compared with NBFM, BFM showed less NO3- accumulation in the topsoil

KeywordsBiodegradable film mulching; Non-biodegradable film mulching; Nitrogen mineralization; Nitrate accumulation; Plant nitrogen uptake
Year of Publication2022
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Journal citation833 (10 August), p. 155220
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155220
Open accessPublished as non-open access
FunderBiotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
Funder project or codeS2N - Soil to Nutrition - Work package 2 (WP2) - Adaptive management systems for improved efficiency and nutritional quality
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online12 Apr 2022
Publication process dates
Accepted08 Apr 2022
PublisherElsevier Science Bv
ISSN0048-9697

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