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Responses of infiltration and evaporation to amounts and distribution characteristics of the residual plastic films within agricultural soil

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Abstract

In arid and semi-arid regions, plastic film mulching is important for improving crop yield and quality, but incomplete recovery of the plastic film results in the accumulation of shattered residual plastic film (RPF) after crop harvest, which further affects infiltration and evaporation, thus reducing crop water use efficiency. Herein, we investigated the effects of RPF amounts (0–1320.0 kg ha–1) and RPF distribution patterns (evenly residual film, ERF; decreasing residual film, DRF) on soil water content, infiltration rate, wetting front migration and evaporation. The results showed that the amount of RPF significantly affected soil infiltration, and the infiltration rate and wetting front migration depth decreased with the increase of RPF amount. Soil water content increased in topsoil (0–15 cm) but decreased in deep soil (15–30 cm) with increasing the RPF amount. Soil infiltration and wetting front transport were blocked by RPF with the increase of soil depth, and thus soil water content decreased with soil depth after infiltration. From another aspect, soil total evaporation decreased significantly with increasing the amount of RPF, and DRF treatments inhibited soil evaporation more significantly than those of ERF. The fitting model results for infiltration rate (Kostiakov), wetting front migration (power function), and total evaporation (Rose) were appropriate, while the fitting accuracy decreased with increasing the RPF amount. The results of linear fit indicated that 396.0 kg ha–1 could be used as a threshold for the RPF amount in the soil, beyond which it could result in the accumulation of heat in the shallow soil and hurt the crop. This study could provide a theoretical reference for the environmental management of plastic film residues in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51869027, 51869028) and the Innovation Team in Key Areas of Corps (2019CB004). We also thank Dr. Yam Dhital from Shihezi University, China, and Dr. Bo Zhou from China Agricultural University, China, for their valuable suggestions and inputs in our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water and Architectural Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832000, Xinjiang, China

    Yue Wen, Haiqiang Li, Wenhao Li, Zhenda Gu & Zhenhua Wang

  2. Key Laboratory of Modern Water-Saving Irrigation of Xinjiang Production and Construction Group, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832000, Xinjiang, China

    Yue Wen, Haiqiang Li, Wenhao Li, Zhenda Gu & Zhenhua Wang

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  1. Yue Wen
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  2. Haiqiang Li
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Correspondence to Zhenhua Wang.

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Wen, Y., Li, H., Li, W. et al. Responses of infiltration and evaporation to amounts and distribution characteristics of the residual plastic films within agricultural soil. Irrig Sci 40, 309–320 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-022-00774-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-022-00774-2

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