Fate of plastic film residues in agro-ecosystem and its effects on aggregate-associated soil carbon and nitrogen stocks

Biodegradable (Bio) plastic films are widely viewed as promising alternative products of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) films to minimize plastic debris accumulation and pollution in agroecosystems. Yet, this speculation indeed lacks of sufficient evidences. We conducted a landfill investigation on the aging characteristics of Bio and LDPE plastic films in maize field, and the effects on soil aggregate composition and carbon & nitrogen stocks. The degradation rate of Bio film was up to 41.1% while that of LDPE film was zero. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed that the crack formation of Bio film had a pronounced domino effect, and FTIR showed that old Bio film displayed an extra wide peak threshold ranging from 3000 to 3500 cm- 1. Particularly, the abundance of microplastics was elevated with the increased plastic residues, and the increment mostly resulted from Bio residues. Critically, plastic residues significantly lowered the soil macro-aggregates ( 0.25 mm) proportion, while increasing that of micro-aggregates (0.1-0.25 mm) in LDPE, and silt/clay fraction (<0.1 mm) in Bio respectively. They significantly promoted total nitrogen content of the aggregates with the same size, but decreased the organic carbon content, dramatically lowering the C/N. Therefore, we first identified the fate of plastic film residues in agroecosystems and revealed the serious deficiencies of Bio plastic film.

Automated summary

The study investigated the degradation characteristics of Bio and LDPE plastic films in maize fields and their effects on soil aggregate composition and carbon & nitrogen stocks. Results showed that Bio film degraded significantly but left residues, impacting soil aggregate proportions and C/N ratio.