Version 1
: Received: 18 September 2023 / Approved: 19 September 2023 / Online: 20 September 2023 (05:09:03 CEST)
Version 2
: Received: 1 November 2023 / Approved: 2 November 2023 / Online: 3 November 2023 (09:07:07 CET)
Pedra, F.; Inácio, M.L.; Fareleira, P.; Oliveira, P.; Pereira, P.; Carranca, C. Long-Term Effects of Plastic Mulch in a Sandy Loam Soil Used to Cultivate Blueberry in Southern Portugal. Pollutants2024, 4, 16-25.
Pedra, F.; Inácio, M.L.; Fareleira, P.; Oliveira, P.; Pereira, P.; Carranca, C. Long-Term Effects of Plastic Mulch in a Sandy Loam Soil Used to Cultivate Blueberry in Southern Portugal. Pollutants 2024, 4, 16-25.
Pedra, F.; Inácio, M.L.; Fareleira, P.; Oliveira, P.; Pereira, P.; Carranca, C. Long-Term Effects of Plastic Mulch in a Sandy Loam Soil Used to Cultivate Blueberry in Southern Portugal. Pollutants2024, 4, 16-25.
Pedra, F.; Inácio, M.L.; Fareleira, P.; Oliveira, P.; Pereira, P.; Carranca, C. Long-Term Effects of Plastic Mulch in a Sandy Loam Soil Used to Cultivate Blueberry in Southern Portugal. Pollutants 2024, 4, 16-25.
Abstract
Agriculture uses plastic products for containers, packaging, tunnels, drip irrigation tubing, mulches. Large amounts of plastics are used as mulches on the soil surface for vegetable production (tomato, cucumber, watermelon, strawberry, vine) to reduce the weed competition, increase water and fertilizer use efficiency and enhance crop yield. Portugal uses around 4,500 t/year of plastic to cover approximately 23,000 ha of agricultural land and only a scarce amount is recovered for recycling or secondary uses because of contamination with soil, vegetation, pesticide and fertilizers. Most plastic mulch is composed of polyethylene that degrades slowly and produces a large quantity of residues in soil with negative impact in the environment. In the present study, the effects of long-term cultivation of blueberry with green plastic mulch, at south Portugal, were evaluated for soil chemical and biological changes. High density green plastic mulch did not contaminate the topsoil with di(2-Ethylhexyl) phtalate and heavy metals. In the planting row with mulch a reduction of total nitrogen and organic carbon concentration, cation exchange capacity and microbial activity in topsoil compared with bare soil. Apparently, the presence of film did not affect negatively the presence of nematodes but the Rhabditida (bacterial feeders) increased in the planting row.
Keywords
green high density polyethylene mulch; microbial activity; nematode; open-field; soil chemical composition; topsoil; Vaccinium cv. Centra Blue
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Soil Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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