Biodegradable mulch films are increasingly being used in agriculture. These consist of carbon-based polymers (plastic) such as polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT). These plastic films are simply ploughed into the field after use. This adds a large amount of artificially processed carbon (C) to the soil. However, it is unclear how quickly these films degrade in the soil and what consequences the additional C input has for plant growth. This is due in particular to technical limitations in recording the degradation: As PBAT is present in a chemically modified form after microbial uptake, it can no longer be detected in the soil, even if a large proportion of the C originating from the PBAT is still present in the soil. In the IsoMulch project, we will therefore investigate the conversion of PBAT films in the soil by combining the natural 13C signal of PBAT with a soil that has a different 13C signal due to the long-term cultivation of C4 plants (e.g. maize). However, it remains to be seen how well the natural C from the soil and C from the biodegradable films can be distinguished in this way.
Project Team |
Prof. Dr. Nele Meyer and Dr. Franziska Bucka Soil Geography and Ecosystem Research, Goethe University Frankfurt |
Prof. Dr. Moritz Bigalke and Dr. Collin Weber Soil Mineralogy and Soil Chemistry, TU Darmstadt |