IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v15y2025i14p1512-d1700819.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Degradation of Biodegradable Mulch-Derived Microplastics and Their Effects on Bacterial Communities and Radish Growth in Three Vegetable-Cultivated Purple Soils

Author

Listed:
  • Ruixue Ao

    (Chongqing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China)

  • Zexian Liu

    (Chongqing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China)

  • Yue Mu

    (College of Environmental Science and Engineering, China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China)

  • Jiaxin Chen

    (Chongqing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China)

  • Xiulan Zhao

    (Chongqing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China)

Abstract

Biodegradable mulch films (BDMs) are considered a promising solution for mitigating plastic residue pollution in agroecosystems. However, the degradation behavior and ecological impacts of their residues on soil–plant systems remain unclear. Here, a pot experiment was conducted using an acidic purple soil (AS), a neutral purple soil (NS), and a calcareous purple soil (CS) to investigate the degradation of 1% ( w / w ) microplastics derived from polyethylene mulch film (PE-MPs) and polybutylene adipate terephthalate/polylactic acid (PBAT/PLA) mulch film (Bio-MPs), as well as their effects on soil properties, bacterial communities, and radish growth. PE-MPs degraded slightly, while the degradation of Bio-MPs followed the order of NS > CS > AS. PE-MPs and Bio-MPs enhanced the nitrification and radish growth in AS but had no significant effects on soil properties and radish growth in CS. Bio-MPs notably increased the relative abundance of PBAT/PLA degradation-related bacteria, such as Ramlibacter , Bradyrhizobium , and Microbacterium , across the three soils. In NS, Bio-MPs raised soil pH and enriched nitrogen-fixing and denitrifying bacteria, leading to a decrease in NO 3 − -N content and radish biomass. Overall, the effects of Bio-MPs on soil–plant systems varied with soil properties, which are closely related to their degradation rates. These findings highlight the need to assess the ecological risks of BDM residues before their large-scale use in agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Ruixue Ao & Zexian Liu & Yue Mu & Jiaxin Chen & Xiulan Zhao, 2025. "Degradation of Biodegradable Mulch-Derived Microplastics and Their Effects on Bacterial Communities and Radish Growth in Three Vegetable-Cultivated Purple Soils," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:14:p:1512-:d:1700819
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/14/1512/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/14/1512/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Raquel Pérez-Reverón & Sergio J. Álvarez-Méndez & Rebecca Magdalena Kropp & Adolfo Perdomo-González & Javier Hernández-Borges & Francisco J. Díaz-Peña, 2022. "Microplastics in Agricultural Systems: Analytical Methodologies and Effects on Soil Quality and Crop Yield," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-29, August.
    2. Yuxin Deng & Zijie Zeng & Weiying Feng & Jing Liu & Fang Yang, 2024. "Characteristics and Migration Dynamics of Microplastics in Agricultural Soils," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Douglas G. Hayes, 2025. "Impact of Plastics in Agriculture," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-2, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:14:p:1512-:d:1700819. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.