Soil Microbial Communities Associated With Biodegradable Plastic Mulch Films.

ABSTRACT: Agricultural plastic mulch films provide a favorable soil microclimate for plant growth, improving crop yields. Biodegradable plastic mulch films (BDMs) have emerged as a sustainable alternative to widely used non-biodegradable polyethylene (PE) films. BDMs are tilled into the soil after use and are expected to biodegrade under field conditions. However, little is known about the microbes involved in biodegradation and the relationships between microbes and plastics in soils. In order to capture the consortium of soil microbes associated with (and thus likely degrading) BDMs, agriculturally-weathered plastics from two locations were studied alongside laboratory enrichment experiments to assess differences in the microbial communities associated with BDMs and PE films. Using a combination o

SUBMITTER: Bandopadhyay S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7691482 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature