Is mulch film itself the primary source of meso- and microplastics in the mulching cultivated soil? A preliminary field study with econometric methods. (15th April 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xu, Li; Xu, Xiangbo; Li, Chang; Li, Jing; Sun, Mingxing; Zhang, Linxiu
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 299(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-04-15
• Subjects: Meso- and microplastics -- Mulch film -- Source -- Cultivated soil -- Econometrics; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118915
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: There has been an increasing interest in the pollution caused by meso- and microplastics (MMPs) in terrestrial ecosystems. Mulch film was once considered to be the most important source of MMPs in the mulching cultivated soil. However, the academic community has not given sufficient scientific evidence. In this study, stratified random sampling method was used to selectively interview households in Hebei province, China (400 households, 20 villages, 5 counties). Finally, household characteristics and mulch film use behavior of 41 households were collected, and corresponding soil samples were sampled. The results showed that 1) the abundance of MMPs was 29.3 ± 33.1 items·kg −1 (DW) and the particle size of MMPs was 2.95 × 10 3 ±1.75 × 10 3 μm, and the proportion of MMPs derived from Polyethylene (PE) was only 18.8%; 2) the mass of MMPs was 2.90 ± 3.72 mg kg −1 (DW) and the proportion of PE MMPs was 43.75%, which has the highest mass percentage; 3) After controlling the endogenous and dummy variables, the use history of mulch film (HistMF) was found to be positively correlated to the abundance of MMPs and inversely correlated to the particle size, but nor with the mass of MMPs; 4) Regarding the heterogeneous characteristics of MMPs, including particle size, color, shape, and type, the findings found the absence of a significant correlation between HistMF and the abundance and mass of PE. In summary, mulch-derived MMPs are not the primary source of MMPs in the mulching cultivated soil in terms of abundance but probably be in terms of mass. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Use history of mulch films was inversely correlated to the particle size of MMPs. Use history of mulch films was positively correlated to the abundance of MMPs. Mulch film itself is not the primary source of MMPs in terms of abundance. Questionnaire survey and soil sampling were integrated properly for MMPs pollution.