Intensive vegetable production under plastic mulch: A field study on soil plastic and pesticide residues and their effects on the soil microbiome

Nicolas Beriot; Raúl Zornoza; Esperanza Huerta Lwanga; Paul Zomer; Benjamin van Schothorst; Onurcan Ozbolat; Eva Lloret; Raúl Ortega; Isabel Miralles; Paula Harkes; Joris van Steenbrugge; Violette Geissen

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165179

Intensive vegetable production under plastic mulch: A field study on soil plastic and pesticide residues and their effects on the soil microbiome

Nicolas Beriot^*, Raúl Zornoza, Esperanza Huerta Lwanga, Paul Zomer, Benjamin van Schothorst, Onurcan Ozbolat, Eva Lloret, Raúl Ortega, Isabel Miralles, Paula Harkes, Joris van Steenbrugge, Violette Geissen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Intensive agriculture relies on external inputs to reach high productivity and profitability. Plastic mulch, mainly in the form of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), is widely used in agriculture to decrease evaporation, increase soil temperature and prevent weeds. The incomplete removal of LDPE mulch after use causes plastic contamination in agricultural soils. In conventional agriculture, the use of pesticides also leaves residues accumulating in soils. Thus, the objective of this study was to measure plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soils and their effects on the soil microbiome. For this, we sampled soil (0–10 cm and 10–30 cm) from 18 parcels from 6 vegetable farms in SE Spain. The farms were under either organic or conventional management, where plastic mulch had been used for >25 years. We measured the macro- and micro-light density plastic debris contents, the pesticide residue levels, and a range of physiochemical properties. We also carried out DNA sequencing on the soil fungal and bacterial communities. Plastic debris (>100 μm) was found in all samples with an average number of 2 × 10³ particles kg⁻¹ and area of 60 cm² kg⁻¹. We found 4–10 different pesticide residues in all conventional soils, for an average of 140 μg kg⁻¹. Overall, pesticide content was ∼100 times lower in organic farms. The soil microbiomes were farm-specific and related to different soil physicochemical parameters and contaminants. Regarding contaminants, bacterial communities responded to the total pesticide residues, the fungicide Azoxystrobin and the insecticide Chlorantraniliprole as well as the plastic area. The fungicide Boscalid was the only contaminant to influence the fungal community. The wide spread of plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soil and their effects on soil microbial communities may impact crop production and other environmental services. More studies are required to evaluate the total costs of intensive agriculture.

Original language	English
Article number	165179
Journal	Science of the Total Environment
Volume	900
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165179
Publication status	Published - 20 Nov 2023

Keywords

Agriculture contamination
Intensive vegetable production
Microplastic
Pesticides residues
Plastic mulch
Soil microbiome

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https://edepot.wur.nl/639019Licence: CC BY

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Beriot, N., Zornoza, R., Lwanga, E. H., Zomer, P., van Schothorst, B., Ozbolat, O., Lloret, E., Ortega, R., Miralles, I., Harkes, P., van Steenbrugge, J., & Geissen, V. (2023). Intensive vegetable production under plastic mulch: A field study on soil plastic and pesticide residues and their effects on the soil microbiome. Science of the Total Environment, 900, Article 165179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165179

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title = "Intensive vegetable production under plastic mulch: A field study on soil plastic and pesticide residues and their effects on the soil microbiome",

abstract = "Intensive agriculture relies on external inputs to reach high productivity and profitability. Plastic mulch, mainly in the form of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), is widely used in agriculture to decrease evaporation, increase soil temperature and prevent weeds. The incomplete removal of LDPE mulch after use causes plastic contamination in agricultural soils. In conventional agriculture, the use of pesticides also leaves residues accumulating in soils. Thus, the objective of this study was to measure plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soils and their effects on the soil microbiome. For this, we sampled soil (0–10 cm and 10–30 cm) from 18 parcels from 6 vegetable farms in SE Spain. The farms were under either organic or conventional management, where plastic mulch had been used for >25 years. We measured the macro- and micro-light density plastic debris contents, the pesticide residue levels, and a range of physiochemical properties. We also carried out DNA sequencing on the soil fungal and bacterial communities. Plastic debris (>100 μm) was found in all samples with an average number of 2 × 103 particles kg−1 and area of 60 cm2 kg−1. We found 4–10 different pesticide residues in all conventional soils, for an average of 140 μg kg−1. Overall, pesticide content was ∼100 times lower in organic farms. The soil microbiomes were farm-specific and related to different soil physicochemical parameters and contaminants. Regarding contaminants, bacterial communities responded to the total pesticide residues, the fungicide Azoxystrobin and the insecticide Chlorantraniliprole as well as the plastic area. The fungicide Boscalid was the only contaminant to influence the fungal community. The wide spread of plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soil and their effects on soil microbial communities may impact crop production and other environmental services. More studies are required to evaluate the total costs of intensive agriculture.",

keywords = "Agriculture contamination, Intensive vegetable production, Microplastic, Pesticides residues, Plastic mulch, Soil microbiome",

author = "Nicolas Beriot and Ra{\'u}l Zornoza and Lwanga, {Esperanza Huerta} and Paul Zomer and {van Schothorst}, Benjamin and Onurcan Ozbolat and Eva Lloret and Ra{\'u}l Ortega and Isabel Miralles and Paula Harkes and {van Steenbrugge}, Joris and Violette Geissen",

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Beriot, N, Zornoza, R, Lwanga, EH , Zomer, P, van Schothorst, B, Ozbolat, O, Lloret, E, Ortega, R, Miralles, I, Harkes, P, van Steenbrugge, J & Geissen, V 2023, 'Intensive vegetable production under plastic mulch: A field study on soil plastic and pesticide residues and their effects on the soil microbiome', Science of the Total Environment, vol. 900, 165179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165179

TY - JOUR

T1 - Intensive vegetable production under plastic mulch

T2 - A field study on soil plastic and pesticide residues and their effects on the soil microbiome

AU - Beriot, Nicolas

AU - Zornoza, Raúl

AU - Lwanga, Esperanza Huerta

AU - Zomer, Paul

AU - van Schothorst, Benjamin

AU - Ozbolat, Onurcan

AU - Lloret, Eva

AU - Ortega, Raúl

AU - Miralles, Isabel

AU - Harkes, Paula

AU - van Steenbrugge, Joris

AU - Geissen, Violette

PY - 2023/11/20

Y1 - 2023/11/20

N2 - Intensive agriculture relies on external inputs to reach high productivity and profitability. Plastic mulch, mainly in the form of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), is widely used in agriculture to decrease evaporation, increase soil temperature and prevent weeds. The incomplete removal of LDPE mulch after use causes plastic contamination in agricultural soils. In conventional agriculture, the use of pesticides also leaves residues accumulating in soils. Thus, the objective of this study was to measure plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soils and their effects on the soil microbiome. For this, we sampled soil (0–10 cm and 10–30 cm) from 18 parcels from 6 vegetable farms in SE Spain. The farms were under either organic or conventional management, where plastic mulch had been used for >25 years. We measured the macro- and micro-light density plastic debris contents, the pesticide residue levels, and a range of physiochemical properties. We also carried out DNA sequencing on the soil fungal and bacterial communities. Plastic debris (>100 μm) was found in all samples with an average number of 2 × 103 particles kg−1 and area of 60 cm2 kg−1. We found 4–10 different pesticide residues in all conventional soils, for an average of 140 μg kg−1. Overall, pesticide content was ∼100 times lower in organic farms. The soil microbiomes were farm-specific and related to different soil physicochemical parameters and contaminants. Regarding contaminants, bacterial communities responded to the total pesticide residues, the fungicide Azoxystrobin and the insecticide Chlorantraniliprole as well as the plastic area. The fungicide Boscalid was the only contaminant to influence the fungal community. The wide spread of plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soil and their effects on soil microbial communities may impact crop production and other environmental services. More studies are required to evaluate the total costs of intensive agriculture.

AB - Intensive agriculture relies on external inputs to reach high productivity and profitability. Plastic mulch, mainly in the form of Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE), is widely used in agriculture to decrease evaporation, increase soil temperature and prevent weeds. The incomplete removal of LDPE mulch after use causes plastic contamination in agricultural soils. In conventional agriculture, the use of pesticides also leaves residues accumulating in soils. Thus, the objective of this study was to measure plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soils and their effects on the soil microbiome. For this, we sampled soil (0–10 cm and 10–30 cm) from 18 parcels from 6 vegetable farms in SE Spain. The farms were under either organic or conventional management, where plastic mulch had been used for >25 years. We measured the macro- and micro-light density plastic debris contents, the pesticide residue levels, and a range of physiochemical properties. We also carried out DNA sequencing on the soil fungal and bacterial communities. Plastic debris (>100 μm) was found in all samples with an average number of 2 × 103 particles kg−1 and area of 60 cm2 kg−1. We found 4–10 different pesticide residues in all conventional soils, for an average of 140 μg kg−1. Overall, pesticide content was ∼100 times lower in organic farms. The soil microbiomes were farm-specific and related to different soil physicochemical parameters and contaminants. Regarding contaminants, bacterial communities responded to the total pesticide residues, the fungicide Azoxystrobin and the insecticide Chlorantraniliprole as well as the plastic area. The fungicide Boscalid was the only contaminant to influence the fungal community. The wide spread of plastic and pesticide residues in agricultural soil and their effects on soil microbial communities may impact crop production and other environmental services. More studies are required to evaluate the total costs of intensive agriculture.

KW - Agriculture contamination

KW - Intensive vegetable production

KW - Microplastic

KW - Pesticides residues

KW - Plastic mulch

KW - Soil microbiome

U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165179

DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165179

M3 - Article

C2 - 37385505

AN - SCOPUS:85169887341

SN - 0048-9697

VL - 900

JO - Science of the Total Environment

JF - Science of the Total Environment

M1 - 165179

ER -

Intensive vegetable production under plastic mulch: A field study on soil plastic and pesticide residues and their effects on the soil microbiome

Abstract

Keywords

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