Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Plastic Mulch Films on Soil Nutrient, Yields and Soil Microbiome in Three Vegetable Fields

Agricultural productivity impacts the environment and natural resources in various ways. The severity of these impacts has triggered the emergence of natural resource management and the related, highly criticized science of agroecology. Vegetable production has known environmental impacts. However, the extent of its participation in sustainable production has not been adequately explored. This review sought to explore the spaciotemporal position of vegetables in a suite of existing sustainable agricultural practices, explore regional variations and discover lessons that can guide the future of vegetable production. There are regional differences regarding sustainable production practices and the associated barriers to their adoption. Generally, sustainable agricultural practices with a societal history in a region tend to be successful, unlike when they are “new” innovations. The major barriers to sustainable agricultural practices in vegetable production are economy-related (total investment cost) and crop-related and are also related to the technology transmission approaches. Unfulfilled expectations and a lack of community participation in technology development are noted challenges, which have led to dis-adoption. A farmer-centered approach to technology promotion could help. Comparatively, southern Africa has the most challenges in the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices. From the lessons learned from other regions, agroecology in vegetable cultivation is not unachievable in Africa. The projected challenges mean that sustainable vegetable production is inevitable.

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“…China [186] Water spinach (I. aquatica). Production of water spinach was significantly improved with rice straw mulching.…”

Section: Crop Rotationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Sustainable Niche for Vegetable Production within the Contentious Sustainable Agriculture Discourse: Barriers, Opportunities and Future Approaches

et al. 2023

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“…It can be hypothesized that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) may also be indirectly affected due to the effects of MPs on soil properties like bulk density, pore structure, water retention, and soil aggregation that condition AMF (Leifheit et al., 2021). Indeed, some plastic mulches indirectly impact fungal and bacterial communities by increasing or decreasing those microorganisms’ abundance through the availability of nutrient (e.g., exchangeable potassium and nitrate; Frey et al., 2008; Koitabashi et al., 2012; Muñoz et al., 2017; Shan et al., 2022).…”

Section: Effects Of Mps On Soil Biotamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, some plastic mulches indirectly impact fungal and bacterial communities by increasing or decreasing those microorganisms' abundance through the availability of nutrient (e.g., exchangeable potassium and nitrate; Frey et al, 2008;Koitabashi et al, 2012;Muñoz et al, 2017;Shan et al, 2022).…”

Section: Fungimentioning

confidence: 99%

Microplastics in agroecosystems: A review of effects on soil biota and key soil functions

Shafea

Yap

Bériot

et al. 2022

J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci.

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Contamination of soils in agroecosystems with microplastics (MPs) is of increasing concern. The contamination of the environment/farmland soils with MPs (1 µm to 5 mm sized particles) and nanoplastics (NPs; <1 µm sized particles) is causing numerous effects on ecological soil functions and human health. MPs enter the soil via several sources, either from intentional plastic use (e.g., plastic mulch, plastic greenhouses, plastic‐coated products) or indirectly from the input of sewage sludge, compost, or irrigation water that is contaminated with plastic. Once in the soil, plastic debris can have various impacts such as changes in soil functions and physicochemical properties and it affects soil organisms due to its toxic behavior. This review paper describes the different effects of plastic waste to understand the consequences for agricultural productivity. Furthermore, we identify knowledge gaps and highlight the required approaches, indicating future research directions on sources, transport, and fate of MPs in soils to improve our understanding of various unspecified abiotic and biotic impacts of MP pollution in agroecosystems.

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“…Recent findings have shown that organic mulch helps regulate soil-microbial communities in tea and litchi [15,16]. In addition, plastic mulch films (biodegradable mulch and polyethylene mulch) can increase microbial abundances in the rhizosphere [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Responses of a Grapevine Rhizosphere System to Mulching Using Amplicon Sequencing and Transcriptomic Analysis

Wang

et al. 2023

Agronomy

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Although mulching is a widely used agronomic practice, its effects on the rhizosphere remain poorly understood. Here, we employed amplicon and transcriptomic sequencing to investigate variations in a grapevine rhizosphere system under mulch treatment (rice straw + felt + plastic film). Analyzing 16S and intergenic spacer (ITS) rRNA sequences indicated that the Shannon and Simpson indices of the bacterial and fungal communities increased markedly under mulch treatment. The bacterial and fungal compositions varied significantly between the control and mulch treatments. Mulching enriched for potentially beneficial microbes that confer disease resistance to plants or participate in nitrogen metabolism (Kaistobacter, Ammoniphilus, Lysobacter, Ammoniphilus, Alicyclobacillus, Aquicella, Nitrospira, Chaetomium, and Microascus), whereas more potentially pathogenic microbes (Fusarium and Gibberella) were detected in the control. Moreover, certain bacteria and fungi exhibited different correlations with the root transcriptome functions of the MEBlue module. The complexity of the bacterial and fungal co-occurrence networks increased with higher node numbers, positive and negative links after mulching. Following mulching, the rhizosphere showed elevated pH, organic matter, and catalase activities, and decreased sucrase and cellulase and β-glucosidase activities. Our results provide comprehensive data showing how a grapevine rhizosphere system responded to mulching treatment and shed important insight into mulching practices for fruit trees.

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Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Plastic Mulch Films on Soil Nutrient, Yields and Soil Microbiome in Three Vegetable Fields

Cited by 16 publications

References 56 publications

The Sustainable Niche for Vegetable Production within the Contentious Sustainable Agriculture Discourse: Barriers, Opportunities and Future Approaches

The Sustainable Niche for Vegetable Production within the Contentious Sustainable Agriculture Discourse: Barriers, Opportunities and Future Approaches

Microplastics in agroecosystems: A review of effects on soil biota and key soil functions

The Responses of a Grapevine Rhizosphere System to Mulching Using Amplicon Sequencing and Transcriptomic Analysis

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