Differential effects of field-aged versus new LDPE and PLA/PBAT plastic film fragments on soil quality and crop productivity.

Whilst complex interactions of plastic type, size, shape, and concentration have been established, most research to date has focused on new, uniform microplastics that fail to represent the heterogeneous mixture of weathered fragments resulting from natural aging of PMF in agricultural fields. To address this, we investigated the concentration-dependent effects (0.05 %, 0.

Elevated CO alters relative belowground carbon investment for nutrient acquisition in a mature temperate forest.

Forests are potential carbon (C) sinks that partially offset anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO) emissions via enhanced C assimilation and productivity. However, the question remains whether mature trees will express sufficient plasticity in nutrient acquisition strategies to support enhanced growth under elevated CO (eCO). Trees may sustain growth by investing C belowground to enhance nutrient acquisition, e.

Characterisation of the unknown chemical composition of a commercial biodegradable agricultural plastic mulch film using complementary spectrometric and spectroscopic techniques.

Biodegradable polyester mulch films are a viable alternative for use in agriculture to polyolefin-based films, offering reduced long-term microplastic pollution in agroecosytems with comparable protections for food security. However, these films carry diverse organic additives and non-intentionally added substances (NIASs), representing an underexplored source of anthropogenic chemicals in agroecosystems. Comprehensive chemical characterisation of these films is critical but hindered by restrictions on revealing proprietary formulations.

Assessment of Four Artificial Methods for Aging Plastic Mulch Films According to Efficiency, Rate, and Similarity to Natural Field-Aged Plastics.

Unlabelled: Artificial degradation is often used to recreate and accelerate the natural aging of plastic for small-scaled simulation experiments assessing their environmental impact. However, current artificial aging methods are rarely compared against reference materials or validated using field-aged samples, creating uncertainties when extrapolating results to naturally aged plastics, making it difficult to place findings in an environmentally applicable context. Therefore, here we compared four accessible, cost-effective, and easily replicable methods (heat, UVA, and UVC irradiance at two intensities) to produce artificially degraded materials.

Higher potential leaching of inorganic and organic additives from biodegradable compared to conventional agricultural plastic mulch film.

Plastic mulch films support global food security, however, their composition and the potential release rates of organic, metal and metalloid co-contaminants remains relatively unknown. This study evaluates the low molecular weight organic additives, metal and metalloid content and leaching from low density polyethylene (LDPE) and biodegradable plastic mulch films. We identified 59 organic additives, and non-intentionally added substances in the new LDPE films (39.

The differential assimilation of nitrogen fertilizer compounds by soil microorganisms.

The differential soil microbial assimilation of common nitrogen (N) fertilizer compounds into the soil organic N pool is revealed using novel compound-specific amino acid (AA) 15N-stable isotope probing. The incorporation of fertilizer 15N into individual AAs reflected the known biochemistry of N assimilation-e.g.

Increasing concentration of pure micro- and macro-LDPE and PP plastic negatively affect crop biomass, nutrient cycling, and microbial biomass.

Over the last 50 years, the intense use of agricultural plastic in the form of mulch films has led to an accumulation of plastic in soil, creating a legacy of plastic in agricultural fields. Plastic often contains additives, however it is still largely unknown how these compounds affect soil properties, potentially influencing or masking effects of the plastic itself. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pure plastics of varying sizes and concentrations, to improve our understanding of plastic-only interactions within soil-plant mesocosms.

LDPE and biodegradable PLA-PBAT plastics differentially affect plant-soil nitrogen partitioning and dynamics in a Hordeum vulgare mesocosm.

Micro and macroplastics are emerging contaminants in agricultural settings, yet their impact on nitrogen (N) cycling and partitioning in plant-soil-microbial systems is poorly understood. In this mesocosm-scale study, spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was exposed to macro or microplastic produced from low density polyethylene (LDPE) or biodegradable plastic at concentrations equivalent to 1, 10 and 20 years of plastic mulch film use.

Development of Alditol Acetate Derivatives for the Determination of N-Enriched Amino Sugars by Gas Chromatography-Combustion-Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry.

Amino sugars can be used as indices to evaluate the role of soil microorganisms in active nitrogen (N) cycling in soil. This paper details the assessment of the suitability of gas chromatography-combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-C-IRMS) for the analysis of N-enriched amino sugars as alditol acetate derivatives prior to application of a novel N stable isotope probing (SIP) approach to amino sugars. The efficient derivatization and cleanup of alditol acetate derivatives for GC was achieved using commercially available amino sugars, including glucosamine, mannosamine, galactosamine, and muramic acid, as laboratory standards.