Biodegradable mulch films divergently regulate soil carbon cycle by reshaping microbial communities and functional genes.

This study examined the effects of two biodegradable mulch films (BM1, BM2) and a plastic mulch film (PM) on soil C-cycle microorganisms and functional genes through field experiments. Biodegradable mulch films significantly enhanced α diversity of C-cycle microorganisms after one month (effects disappeared by the seventh month), with the maximum increase in community richness exceeding 32%. Biodegradable mulch films made of dissimilar components exhibited distinct effects. BM1 (PBAT/PLA) suppressed genes related to most carbon fixation pathways while BM2 (PBAT/lignin) tended to enhance certain pathways. BM1 notably elevated carbon degradation genes (e.g., an 87.2% increase in pectin degradation), and inhibited methane metabolism genes, while BM2' effects were much weaker. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed that mulching reduced both the diversity of C-cycle microorganisms and complexity of their interactions, while simultaneously strengthening synergistic relationships among microbes. BM1 treatment increased the proportion of positive microbial interactions to a maximum of 63.28%. Soil pH, electrical conductivity (EC), available phosphorus (AP), and soil organic carbon (SOC) were identified as the key environmental factors shaping the C-cycle microbial community. This study demonstrates that biodegradable mulch films significantly influence the expression of C-cycle functional genes and soil carbon transformation processes by modifying soil microenvironment and microbial community structure.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Journal of Hazardous Materials

• Publication date

  2026-02-01

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2026.141616PMID 41793862
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Modeling bacterial interactions uncovers the importance of outliers in the coastal lignin-degrading consortium

  2025cited by this paper
• Niche differentiation of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation bacteria and archaea in the permafrost peatlands

  2025cited by this paper
• Effects of organic material addition on carbon cycling and soil fertility in paddy soil.

  2025cited by this paper
• Biodegradable microplastics aggravate greenhouse gas emissions from urban lake sediments more severely than conventional microplastics.

  2024cited by this paper
• Reversed oxidative TCA (roTCA) for carbon fixation by an Acidimicrobiia strain from a saline lake

  2024cited by this paper
• Microplastics promote methane emission in estuarine and coastal wetlands.

  2024cited by this paper
• Mechanisms and implications of bacterial–fungal competition for soil resources

  2024cited by this paper
• Metagenomic investigations into the microbial consortia, degradation pathways, and enzyme systems involved in the biodegradation of plastics in a tropical lentic pond sediment

  2024cited by this paper
• Shifts in C-degradation genes and microbial metabolic activity with vegetation types affected the surface soil organic carbon pool

  2024cited by this paper
• Changes in soil microbial functions involved in the carbon cycle response to conventional and biodegradable microplastics

  2024cited by this paper
• The addition of discrimination inhibitors stimulations discrimination potential and N2O emissions were linked to predation among microorganisms in long term nitrogen application and straw returning systems

  2024cited by this paper
• Season shapes the functional diversity of microbial carbon metabolism in mangrove soils of Hainan Island, China

  2024cited by this paper
• Increased methane production associated with community shifts towards Methanocella in paddy soils with the presence of nanoplastics

  2024cited by this paper
• Effects of plastic film mulching on soil microbial carbon metabolic activity and functional diversity at different maize growth stages in cool, semi-arid regions

  2024cited by this paper
• The chemical logic of enzymatic lignin degradation

  2023cited by this paper
• Nocardioides: “Specialists” for Hard-to-Degrade Pollutants in the Environment

  2023cited by this paper
• Deciphering the Mechanisms Shaping the Plastisphere Microbiota in Soil

  2022cited by this paper
• Role of polyamide microplastic in altering microbial consortium and carbon and nitrogen cycles in a simulated agricultural soil microcosm.

  2022cited by this paper
• Polyethylene microplastic and biochar interactively affect the global warming potential of soil greenhouse gas emissions.

  2022cited by this paper
• Rhizosphere microbial community composition and survival strategies in oligotrophic and metal(loid) contaminated iron tailings areas.

  2022cited by this paper
• Biodegradable plastics in the air and soil environment: Low degradation rate and high microplastics formation.

  2021cited by this paper
• LDPE microplastics affect soil microbial communities and nitrogen cycling.

  2021cited by this paper
• Microplastics in soil: A review on methods, occurrence, sources, and potential risk.

  2021cited by this paper
• Microplastic effects on carbon cycling processes in soils

  2021cited by this paper
• The microplastisphere: Biodegradable microplastics addition alters soil microbial community structure and function

  2021cited by this paper
• A review of biodegradable plastics to biodegradable microplastics: Another ecological threat to soil environments?

  2021cited by this paper
• Effect of (bio)plastics on soil environment: A review.

  2021cited by this paper
• Does long-term use of biodegradable plastic mulch affect soil carbon stock?

  2021cited by this paper
• OUP accepted manuscript

  2021cited by this paper
• Microplastics Exposure Causes Negligible Effects on the Oxidative Response Enzymes Glutathione Reductase and Peroxidase in the Oligochaete Tubifex tubifex

  2020cited by this paper
• The genus Sphingopyxis: Systematics, ecology, and bioremediation potential - A review.

  2020cited by this paper
• Biodegradable plastic mulches: Impact on the agricultural biotic environment.

  2020cited by this paper
• The effects of three different microplastics on enzyme activities and microbial communities in soil

  2020cited by this paper
• Effects of microplastics on greenhouse gas emissions and the microbial community in fertilized soil.

  2019cited by this paper
• Mixing effect of polylactic acid microplastic and straw residue on soil property and ecological function.

  2019cited by this paper
• Exploring the impacts of plastics in soil - The effects of polyester textile fibers on soil invertebrates.

  2019cited by this paper
• Effects of plastic mulching and plastic residue on agricultural production: A meta-analysis.

  2019cited by this paper
• Plastics in soil: Analytical methods and possible sources.

  2018cited by this paper
• Effects of Soil Residual Plastic Film on Soil Microbial Community Structure and Fertility

  2018cited by this paper
• Modelling soil water dynamic in rain-fed spring maize field with plastic mulching

  2018cited by this paper
• Microplastic and mesoplastic pollution in farmland soils in suburbs of Shanghai, China.

  2018cited by this paper
• Buried straw layer plus plastic mulching improves soil organic carbon fractions in an arid saline soil from Northwest China

  2017cited by this paper
• Does long-term plastic film mulching really decrease sequestration of organic carbon in soil in the Loess Plateau?

  2017cited by this paper
• Influence of different plastic film mulches and wetted soil percentages on potato grown under drip irrigation

  2017cited by this paper
• Impact of plastic film mulching on increasing greenhouse gas emissions in temperate upland soil during maize cultivation

  2015cited by this paper
• Rhizosphere processes are quantitatively important components of terrestrial carbon and nutrient cycles

  2015cited by this paper
• Evidence for Horizontal Gene Transfer of Anaerobic Carbon Monoxide Dehydrogenases

  2012cited by this paper
• Nocardioides sp. strain WSN05-2, isolated from a wheat field, degrades deoxynivalenol, producing the novel intermediate 3-epi-deoxynivalenol

  2010cited by this paper
• Ammonia oxidation kinetics determine niche separation of nitrifying Archaea and Bacteria

  2009cited by this paper
• A 3-Hydroxypropionate/4-Hydroxybutyrate Autotrophic Carbon Dioxide Assimilation Pathway in Archaea

  2007cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.