Yi Yuanyang, Wang Yuxian, Zhu Jing, Gu Meiying, Chen Jianwei, Jiang Ling, Kong Delong, Zhang Zhidong, Zhang Wei
School of Life Sciences, Xinjiang Normal University, Urumqi, 830046, China.
Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Biological Resources and Genetic Engineering, College of Life Science and Technology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi, 830017, China.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Sep;392:126582. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126582. Epub 2025 Jul 23.
The global use of transparent agricultural films has raised significant concerns about the contamination of phthalate esters (PAEs). Despite these concerns, field studies on PAE accumulation due to long-term agricultural film use remain limited. This study focuses on cotton fields in Xinjiang with varying mulching durations (0-30 years) to explore the accumulation of PAEs and their effects on soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities, microbial metabolic functions, and community structure. Results reveal that with the increase in mulching duration, the ∑PAEs content in the soil did not follow a linear growth trend, but instead exhibited a pattern of initial increase followed by a decrease. The peak concentration was observed in the 8th year, reaching 6.40 mg/kg. This decline is attributed to multiple factors, including microbial adaptation, decreased film degradation, and soil uptake of residual compounds. The accumulation and degradation of PAEs significantly altered soil pH and organic matter content. Both soil enzyme activity and microbial metabolic activity showed a three-phase fluctuation over time, initially increasing, then decreasing, and finally increasing again, highlighting the microbial response to environmental PAE-induced stress. Similarly, the diversity and composition of bacterial communities exhibited analogous fluctuations. The analysis of keystone species abundance, assessment of co-occurrence network complexity, and evaluation of their ecological functions in carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur cycling collectively underscore the potential risks posed by PAEs in long-term mulched cotton fields to soil health and ecosystem stability. In summary, this study provides comprehensive field-based evidence that long-term use of agricultural mulching films leads to dynamic changes in PAEs accumulation, which in turn affect soil physicochemical properties, microbial functions, and ecosystem stability, thereby underscoring the ecological risks associated with prolonged plastic film application in agroecosystems.
透明农用薄膜在全球的使用引发了人们对邻苯二甲酸酯（PAEs）污染的重大担忧。尽管存在这些担忧，但关于长期使用农用薄膜导致PAEs积累的田间研究仍然有限。本研究聚焦于新疆不同覆盖年限（0 - 30年）的棉田，以探讨PAEs的积累及其对土壤理化性质、酶活性、微生物代谢功能和群落结构的影响。结果表明，随着覆盖年限的增加，土壤中∑PAEs含量并非呈线性增长趋势，而是呈现出先增加后减少的模式。在第8年观察到峰值浓度，达到6.40毫克/千克。这种下降归因于多种因素，包括微生物适应、薄膜降解减少以及土壤对残留化合物的吸收。PAEs的积累和降解显著改变了土壤pH值和有机质含量。土壤酶活性和微生物代谢活性随时间均呈现三相波动，最初增加，然后减少，最后再次增加，突出了微生物对环境中PAE诱导胁迫的响应。同样，细菌群落的多样性和组成也呈现出类似的波动。对关键物种丰度的分析、共现网络复杂性的评估以及它们在碳、氮和硫循环中的生态功能评估共同强调了长期覆盖棉田中PAEs对土壤健康和生态系统稳定性构成的潜在风险。总之，本研究提供了全面的田间证据，表明长期使用农用覆盖薄膜会导致PAEs积累的动态变化，进而影响土壤理化性质、微生物功能和生态系统稳定性，从而凸显了在农业生态系统中长期应用塑料薄膜相关的生态风险。
