Microplastics from polyvinyl chloride agricultural plastic films do not change nitrogenous gas emission but enhance denitrification potential

Abstract

The effects of microplastics (MPs) from agricultural plastic films on soil nitrogen transformation, especially denitrification, are still obscure. Here, using a robotized flow-through system, we incubated vegetable upland soil cores for 66 days with MPs from PE mulching film (F-PE) and PVC greenhouse film (F-PVC) and directly quantified the emissions of nitrogenous gases from denitrification under oxic conditions, as well as the denitrification potential under anoxic conditions. The impact of MPs on soil nitrogen transformation was largely determined by the concentration of the additive phthalate esters (PAEs) containing in the MPs. The F-PE MPs with low level of PAEs (about 0.006%) had no significant effect on soil mineral nitrogen content and nitrogenous gas emissions under oxic conditions. In contrast, the F-PVC MPs with high levels of PAEs (about 11%) reduced soil nitrate content under oxic conditions, probably owing to promoted microbial assimilation of nitrogen, as the emissions of denitrification products (N₂, NO, and N₂O) was not affected. However, the F-PVC MPs significantly enhanced the denitrification potential of the soil due to the increased abundance of denitrifiers under anoxic conditions. These findings highlighted the disturbance of MPs from agricultural films, particularly the additive PAEs on nitrogen transformation in soil ecosystems.