Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil
Biodegradable plastic film (BF) has been widely used in agriculture owing to concerns over microplastic (MP) contamination and its potential risks to agricultural sustainability. Elucidating the distribution of MP and the role of microbial communities in their biodegradation is crucial for evaluatin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Higher Education Press
2026-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2025629 |
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| author | Liyin REN Wei ZHU Minghang ZHU Aihua ZHANG Junling CAI Lei XU Kai WANG Xuejun LIU Rui JIANG |
| author_facet | Liyin REN Wei ZHU Minghang ZHU Aihua ZHANG Junling CAI Lei XU Kai WANG Xuejun LIU Rui JIANG |
| author_sort | Liyin REN |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Biodegradable plastic film (BF) has been widely used in agriculture owing to concerns over microplastic (MP) contamination and its potential risks to agricultural sustainability. Elucidating the distribution of MP and the role of microbial communities in their biodegradation is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of BF in paddy soil. In this study, soil samples were collected from typical paddies in southern China. The MP composition was analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Metagenomic sequencing was conducted to identify MP degradation genes and characterize microbial communities. The results revealed that BF-mulched soil had significantly higher MP abundance in the 0.25–0.1 mm size range than soil with a history of no film use as a comparator (CK) (P < 0.05). Similarly, BF had a significantly higher abundance of particular MP types than the CK (P < 0.05). Five main types of MP biodegradation pathways were identified in both BF and CK samples. Over 26 functional genes and 10 genera were associated with the biodegradation of the top five polymer types. However, only a subset of genes and genera significantly differed between BF and CK samples, particularly in the degradation of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, polyethylene and other polymers (P < 0.05). At the functional level, similar genera contributed to MP degradation. However, the relative contributions of these genera varied depending on the polymer type. Overall, BF use led to more efficient MP degradation into simpler structures than in CK. Although the total MP content did not significantly differ between BF and CK samples, BF use had altered the composition and abundance of MP-degrading bacterial communities in the sampled paddy soil. This enhanced biodegradation efficiency under BF use further supports agricultural sustainability in paddy systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-25ed744fa1f0429b97a846eb29806900 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2095-7505 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2026-03-01 |
| publisher | Higher Education Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-25ed744fa1f0429b97a846eb298069002025-08-20T04:01:26ZengHigher Education PressFrontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering2095-75052026-03-011312562910.15302/J-FASE-2025629Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soilLiyin REN0Wei ZHU1Minghang ZHU2Aihua ZHANG3Junling CAI4Lei XU5Kai WANG6Xuejun LIU7Rui JIANG81. College of Civil and Architecture Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China|7. Anhui Modern Industrial Institute of Intelligent Construction, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China1. College of Civil and Architecture Engineering, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China|2. Research Center for Cultural Landscape Protection and Ecological Restoration, China–Portugal Belt and Road Cooperation Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Conservation Science, Gold Mantis School of Architecture, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China|7. Anhui Modern Industrial Institute of Intelligent Construction, Chuzhou University, Chuzhou 239000, China3. Ningbo Municipal Domestic Waste Separation Guidance Center, Ningbo 315000, China4. Shihezi Research Institute of Agricultural Science, Shihezi 832000, China4. Shihezi Research Institute of Agricultural Science, Shihezi 832000, China5. Jiangsu Engineering Technology Research Center of Biomass Composites and Addictive Manufacturing, Institute of Agricultural Facilities and Equipment, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China6. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China6. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China2. Research Center for Cultural Landscape Protection and Ecological Restoration, China–Portugal Belt and Road Cooperation Laboratory of Cultural Heritage Conservation Science, Gold Mantis School of Architecture, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, ChinaBiodegradable plastic film (BF) has been widely used in agriculture owing to concerns over microplastic (MP) contamination and its potential risks to agricultural sustainability. Elucidating the distribution of MP and the role of microbial communities in their biodegradation is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of BF in paddy soil. In this study, soil samples were collected from typical paddies in southern China. The MP composition was analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Metagenomic sequencing was conducted to identify MP degradation genes and characterize microbial communities. The results revealed that BF-mulched soil had significantly higher MP abundance in the 0.25–0.1 mm size range than soil with a history of no film use as a comparator (CK) (P < 0.05). Similarly, BF had a significantly higher abundance of particular MP types than the CK (P < 0.05). Five main types of MP biodegradation pathways were identified in both BF and CK samples. Over 26 functional genes and 10 genera were associated with the biodegradation of the top five polymer types. However, only a subset of genes and genera significantly differed between BF and CK samples, particularly in the degradation of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, polyethylene and other polymers (P < 0.05). At the functional level, similar genera contributed to MP degradation. However, the relative contributions of these genera varied depending on the polymer type. Overall, BF use led to more efficient MP degradation into simpler structures than in CK. Although the total MP content did not significantly differ between BF and CK samples, BF use had altered the composition and abundance of MP-degrading bacterial communities in the sampled paddy soil. This enhanced biodegradation efficiency under BF use further supports agricultural sustainability in paddy systems.https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2025629Biodegradable plastic filmsmicroplasticspaddy soil |
| spellingShingle | Liyin REN Wei ZHU Minghang ZHU Aihua ZHANG Junling CAI Lei XU Kai WANG Xuejun LIU Rui JIANG Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering Biodegradable plastic films microplastics paddy soil |
| title | Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil |
| title_full | Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil |
| title_fullStr | Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil |
| title_short | Effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil |
| title_sort | effect of biodegradable films on microplastic distribution and microbial community composition in paddy soil |
| topic | Biodegradable plastic films microplastics paddy soil |
| url | https://journal.hep.com.cn/fase/EN/PDF/10.15302/J-FASE-2025629 |
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