Dynamics of macroplastics and microplastics formed by biodegradable mulch film in an agricultural field.

Conventional plastic mulch brings agronomic and economic benefits to crop production, but a large amount of plastic waste amasses when the mulch is removed from the fields after harvest. Soil-biodegradable plastic mulch (BDM) has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional plastic mulch as it can be tilled into the soil after harvest, thereby alleviating disposal problems. However, direct evidence on complete degradation of biodegradable mulch under natural conditions is still lacking. We quantified the dynamics of macro- (>5 mm) and microplastics (0.1-5 mm in size) in four years after a one-time application of mulch in a field with monoculture maize. The BDM feedstock was polybutyleneadipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) and polylactic acid (PLA)-based, and both a clear and black BDM were tested. The BDM plastic mulch films degraded into macro- and micoplastics. Macroplastics disappeared 2.5 years after mulch incorporation. We developed a new extraction method for biodegradable microplastics using a sequential density fractionation approach with a H

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Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.