Effects of biodegradable plastic film mulching on soil microbial communities in two agroecosystems.

ABSTRACT: Plastic mulch films are used globally in crop production but incur considerable disposal and environmental pollution issues. Biodegradable plastic mulch films (BDMs), an alternative to polyethylene (PE)-based films, are designed to be tilled into the soil where they are expected to be mineralized to carbon dioxide, water and microbial biomass. However, insufficient research regarding the impacts of repeated soil incorporation of BDMs on soil microbial communities has partly contributed to limited adoption of BDMs. In this study, we evaluated the effects of BDM incorporation on soil microbial community structure and function over two years in two geographical locations: Knoxville, TN, and in Mount Vernon, WA, USA. Treatments included four plastic BDMs (three commercially available and one e

SUBMITTER: Bandopadhyay S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7179572 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature