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Zhang D, Ng EL, Hu W, Wang H, Galaviz P, Yang H, Sun W, Li C, Ma X, Fu B, Zhao P, Zhang F, Jin S, Zhou M, Du L, Peng C, Zhang X, Xu Z, Xi B, Liu X, Sun S, Cheng Z, Jiang L, Wang Y, Gong L, Kou C, Li Y, Ma Y, Huang D, Zhu J, Yao J, Lin C, Qin S, Zhou L, He B, Chen D, Li H, Zhai L, Lei Q, Wu S, Zhang Y, Pan J, Gu B, Liu H. Plastic pollution in croplands threatens long-term food security. Glob Chang Biol 2020; 26:3356-3367. [PMID: 32281177 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 02/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Plastic pollution is a global concern given its prevalence in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Studies have been conducted on the distribution and impact of plastic pollution in marine ecosystems, but little is known on terrestrial ecosystems. Plastic mulch has been widely used to increase crop yields worldwide, yet the impact of plastic residues in cropland soils to soil health and crop production in the long term remained unclear. In this paper, using a global meta-analysis, we found that the use of plastic mulch can indeed increase crop yields on average by 25%-42% in the immediate season due to the increase of soil temperature (+8%) and moisture (+17%). However, the unabated accumulation of film residues in the field negatively impacts its physicochemical properties linked to healthy soil and threatens food production in the long term. It has multiple negative impacts on plant growth including crop yield (at the mean rate of -3% for every additional 100 kg/ha of film residue), plant height (-2%) and root weight (-5%), and soil properties including soil water evaporation capacity (-2%), soil water infiltration rate (-8%), soil organic matter (-0.8%) and soil available phosphorus (-5%) based on meta-regression. Using a nationwide field survey of China, the largest user of plastic mulch worldwide, we found that plastic residue accumulation in cropland soils has reached 550,800 tonnes, with an estimated 6%-10% reduction in cotton yield in some polluted sites based on current level of plastic residue content. Immediate actions should be taken to ensure the recovery of plastic film mulch and limit further increase in film residue loading to maintain the sustainability of these croplands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Ee Ling Ng
- School of Agriculture and Food, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - Wanli Hu
- Institute of Agricultural Environment and Resources, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yunnan, P.R. China
| | - Hongyuan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Pablo Galaviz
- Bioinformatics and Data Science Research Facility, Children's Medical Research Institute, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Hude Yang
- Institute of Soil, Fertilizer and Water-Saving Agriculture, Gansu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, P.R. China
| | - Wentao Sun
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Environment Resources, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
| | - Chongxiao Li
- Protection Station of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Gansu Agricultural Department, Lanzhou, P.R. China
| | - Xingwang Ma
- Institute of Soil Fertilizer and Water Saving, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Urumqi, P.R. China
| | - Bin Fu
- Institute of Agricultural Environment and Resources, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Yunnan, P.R. China
| | - Peiyi Zhao
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Analysis of Inner-Mongolia Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot, P.R. China
| | - Fulin Zhang
- Institute of Plant Protection, Soil and Fertilizer Sciences, Hubei Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Wuhan, P.R. China
| | - Shuqin Jin
- Research Center for Rural Economy, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Mingdong Zhou
- Protection Station of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Xinjiang Agricultural Department, Urumqi, P.R. China
| | - Lianfeng Du
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Resources, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Chang Peng
- Institute of Agricultural Resource and Environment, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changchun, P.R. China
| | - Xuejun Zhang
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Ningxia Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Yinchuan, P.R. China
| | - Zhiyu Xu
- Rural Energy and Environment Agency, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Bin Xi
- Rural Energy and Environment Agency, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoxia Liu
- Beijing Agro-Environment Monitoring Station, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Shiyou Sun
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Shijiazhuang, P.R. China
| | - Zhenhua Cheng
- Tianjin Agro-Environment Monitoring Station, Tianjin, P.R. China
| | - Lihua Jiang
- Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, P.R. China
| | - Yufeng Wang
- Institute of Soil Fertilizer and Environment Resources, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, P.R. China
| | - Liang Gong
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Environment Resources, Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenyang, P.R. China
| | - Changlin Kou
- Institute of Plant Nutrition, Agricultural Resources and Environment Science, Henan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhengzhou, P.R. China
| | - Yan Li
- Institute of Environmental Resources and Soil Fertilizer, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Youhua Ma
- School of Resource and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, P.R. China
| | - Dongfeng Huang
- Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, P.R. China
| | - Jian Zhu
- Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Changsha, P.R. China
| | - Jianwu Yao
- Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Chaowen Lin
- Soil and Fertilizer Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu, P.R. China
| | - Song Qin
- Guizhou Institute of Soil and Fertilizer, Guiyang, P.R. China
| | - Liuqiang Zhou
- Agricultural Resources and Environment Institute, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, P.R. China
| | - Binghui He
- College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, P.R. China
| | - Deli Chen
- School of Agriculture and Food, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
| | - Huanchun Li
- Institute of Plant Nutrition and Analysis of Inner-Mongolia Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hohhot, P.R. China
| | - Limei Zhai
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Qiuliang Lei
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Shuxia Wu
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Yitao Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Junting Pan
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Baojing Gu
- Department of Land Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
- College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Hongbin Liu
- Key Laboratory of Nonpoint Source Pollution Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
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