Pedosphere 34(1): 88--96, 2024
ISSN 1002-0160/CN 32-1315/P
©2024 Soil Science Society of China
Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science Press
| Agronomic performances of biodegradable and non-biodegradable plastic film mulching on a maize cropping system in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China |
Hao ZHANG1,2, Mengqiong CHEN2, Ruiquan QIAO2, Fan DING3, Hao FENG4, Rui JIANG1,2 |
1 Research Center for Cultural Landscape Protection and Ecological Restoration, China-Portugal Belt and Road Cooperation Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Conservation Science, Gold Mantis School of Architecture, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006 (China)
2 Key Laboratory of Plant Nutrition and the Agri-environment in Northwest China, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 (China)
3 College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866 (China)
4 Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100 (China) |
| ABSTRACT |
| Biodegradable plastic film mulch (PFM) is considered an alternative to non-biodegradable PFM to mitigate the negative impacts of residual film. However, the agronomic performance of biodegradable PFM in comparison to non-biodegradable PFM still needs to be tested. In this study, we evaluated the effects of biodegradable and non-biodegradable PFM on soil physicochemical properties, microbial community, and enzyme activities, as well as maize growth performance. Biodegradable and non-biodegradable PFM both increased soil temperature, water content, N content, and microbial biomass and maize yield by up to 30%, but decreased soil enzyme activities as compared to no mulching (control, CK). Most soil physicochemical properties, microbial community, and enzyme activities were similar under non-biodegradable and biodegradable PFM at the early stages of maize growth. However, at the late stages, soil temperature, water content, mineral N, NO3--N, ammonia monooxygenase (AMO) activity, and total phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) decreased under biodegradable PFM owing to film fragmentation. White PFM increased soil temperature, water content, and total PLFAs at the early stages of maize growth but decreased soil mineral N and total PLFAs at the late stages, as compared to black PFM. As soil temperature and N availability were the major factors affecting soil microbial community, microbial activity decreased after the fragmentation of biodegradable PFM, owing to the decreased soil temperature, water content, and mineral N. Notably, biodegradable PFM could decrease NO3--N accumulation in topsoil by decreasing N transformation due to the lower microbial and N-related enzyme (e.g., AMO) activities, compared with non-biodegradable PFM, which may avoid negative environmental impacts, such as NO3--N leaching or gas emission after harvest. Maize yield, height, aboveground biomass, and N uptake under biodegradable PFM were similar to those under non-biodegradable PFM during maize growth, implying that biodegradable PFM has no negative impact on crop growth and yield. In general, biodegradable PFM was equivalent to non-biodegradable PFM in terms of maize yield increase and N uptake, but was environmentally friendly. Therefore, biodegradable PFM can be used as an alternative to non-biodegradable PFM in semi-arid areas for sustainable agricultural practices. |
| Key Words: black plastic film mulching,enzyme activity,film fragmentation,microbial community,phospholipid fatty acid,white plastic film mulching |
| Citation: Zhang H, Chen M Q, Qiao R Q, Ding F, Feng H, Jiang R. 2024. Agronomic performances of biodegradable and non-biodegradable plastic film mulching on a maize cropping system in the semi-arid Loess Plateau, China. Pedosphere. 34(1): 88–96. |
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