This paper presents the environmental impacts of different plasticulture methods, including possible impacts caused by the accidental emission of plastics in strawberry cultivation. The main goal of this study is to help farmers determine the most environmentally friendly cultivation technique and to test the inclusion of plastic pollution in life cycle assessment (LCA). This study quantifies the abrasion or erosion of these plastics during cultivation and their release into the environment, relates such emissions to different cultivation methods, and puts them into the broader context of other environmental impacts. The study presents the effects of eight plasticulture methods and three combinations thereof on the yield, water and nutrient savings, and plastic masses that are to be employed and are assumed to be partly released into the environment. To make biodegradable agroplastics competitive, their effects on cultivation parameters such as water and nutrient demand and yield, as well as their degradability under real-life conditions on the field, need to be enhanced. The results of this study suggest the need to regulate certain parameters of plastics that are in direct contact with soil, such as rip resistance and permitted polymer types and additives. Besides, the legal framework should incentivize the complete recovery and proper end-of-life treatment of agroplastics. Also, possible legal restrictions that encourage the use of plasticulture methods that can help reduce the environmental impacts as compared to open-field cultivation are important.
The current study examines the contamination of microplastics in three greenhouse types: abandoned, normal, and simple. The findings revealed that the abundance of microplastics was found to be the highest in the abandoned greenhouse, followed by the normal greenhouse and simple greenhouse. The mean abundance of microplastic organic fertilizer and irrigation water was also high.[…]
The study examines the distribution of residual film after eight years of film mulching in mid-April 2018. Results from the study revealed that eight years of mulching significantly increased the quantity of agricultural mulch film residues in the soil. The size of residual film fragments was found to vary from 0.25 cm2 to 109 cm2,[…]
A study in Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province, investigated microplastic pollution in different land uses, including facility farmland, traditional farmland, orchard, grassland, and woodland. Results showed a significant difference in microplastic abundance and characteristics between different land use types. Facility farmlands, traditional farmlands, and orchard lands had higher microplastic abundance than grasslands and woodlands. The main[…]
The study analysed 225 soil samples from maize planting zones in northern China, revealing that long-term plastic film mulching increases microplastic pollution in agricultural soils. The abundance of microplastics was significantly higher in mulched soils (754 ± 477 items kg-1) than in non-mulched soils (376 ± 149 items kg-1). The length of time with film[…]
The study examined the relative abundances and morphological distributions of microplastics (MPs) in water, sediments, and farmland soils in the Caohai Lake region. The estuary in the study area was considered a potential sink for MP transportation. Transparent and black MPs accounted for a large proportion of MPs in the five environments, with possible sources[…]