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Comparison of Microplastic Characteristics in Mulched and Greenhouse Soils of a Major Agriculture Area, Korea

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Abstract

Soil microplastic (MP) contamination through plastic mulch and greenhouse soils is a global concern. However, whether plastic mulch contaminates the soil to a greater or lesser extent than the contamination caused by building greenhouses with MPs has not been documented. This study is the first to examine and compare the abundance and distribution of MPs in greenhouses and mulched soils of Korean agriculture field to obtain the polymer types and sizes of MPs present. The MP abundances in the greenhouse and mulched soils ranged from 50 to 379 and 158 to 943 particles kg− 1, respectively, with an average abundance of 221.4 and 356.8 particles kg− 1. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed in soil MP contamination between the greenhouse and mulching sites. At both sites, fragments (91%) were the predominant MP shape. MPs with a size < 300 μm were dominant, covering 99.57% of the mulch site and 99.69% of the greenhouse. Six MP polymers in the greenhouse and mulching sites: polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene amide, and polymethyl methacrylate were identified. The soil MP contaminants in greenhouses and mulch sites in the Haean Basin have originated from the use of plastic films, and ropes. The first-hand data established by this study showed the same degree of MP contamination in mulch and greenhouse soils, which provides important background information on MP characteristics to understand the environmental behavior and ecological effects of MPs in soil systematically and comprehensively.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) through Measurement and Risk assessment Program for Management of Microplastics Program, funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (2020003110010) and this research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No.2019R1A6A1A03033167).

Funding

This work was funded by Korea Ministry of Environment (MOE) (2020003110010) and the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (No.2019R1A6A1A03033167).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea

    Rogers Wainkwa Chia, Jin-Yong Lee, Minwook Lee & Sungbeen Lee

  2. Research Institute for Earth Resources, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea

    Rogers Wainkwa Chia

  3. Research on Microplastics in Groundwater (RMPG), Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, 24341, Republic of Korea

    Jin-Yong Lee & Sungbeen Lee

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  1. Rogers Wainkwa Chia
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Contributions

RWChia: Writing of original draft, conceptualization, statistical analysis, formal analysis, validation, writing – review, and editing of subsequent drafts and investigation. J-YL: Supervision, resources, review and editing, and funding acquisition. SL: Drew figures, Investigation and Resources. ML: Investigation, drew figures, review and editing. All authors read and approved the manuscript’s final version.

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Correspondence to Jin-Yong Lee.

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Chia, R.W., Lee, JY., Lee, M. et al. Comparison of Microplastic Characteristics in Mulched and Greenhouse Soils of a Major Agriculture Area, Korea. J Polym Environ 31, 2216–2229 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-022-02746-1

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