IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i4p3106-d1064121.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Metal Release from Microplastics to Soil: Effects on Soil Enzymatic Activities and Spinach Production

Author

Listed:
  • Giorgia Santini

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy)

  • Valeria Memoli

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy)

  • Ermenegilda Vitale

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy)

  • Gabriella Di Natale

    (CeSMA—Centre of Meteorologic and Avanced Thecnology Services, University of Naples Federico II, Nicolangelo Protopisani Course, San Giovanni a Teduccio, 80146 Naples, Italy)

  • Marco Trifuoggi

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy)

  • Giulia Maisto

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy
    BAT Center—Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology, 80100 Naples, Italy)

  • Lucia Santorufo

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 80126 Naples, Italy
    BAT Center—Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology, 80100 Naples, Italy)

Abstract

Microplastics (MPs) represent emergent pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems. Microplastics can cause the release of metal and damage to crop quality. The present research aimed to evaluate the effects of Mater-bi (Bio-MPs) and polyethylene (PE-MPs) MPs at different concentrations on soil properties and on the growth of Spinacia oleracea L. Plants were grown in 30 pots filled with soil mixed with 0.5, 1 and 2% d.w. of Bio-MPs and PE-MPs and in 5 pots filled only with soil, considered as controls (K). At the end of the vegetative cycle, the spinach plants were evaluated for the epigeal (EPI) and hypogeal (HYPO) biomasses and the ratio of HYPO/EPI was calculated. In the soil, the total and the available fractions of Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb and the hydrolase (HA), β-glucosidase (β-glu), dehydrogenase (DHA) and urease (U) activities were evaluated. The results revealed that the addition of Bio-MPs increased soil total Cr, Cu and Pb and available Cu concentrations, and the addition of PE-MPs increased Pb availability. In soil contaminated by both Bio-MPs and PE-MPs, HA and β-glu activities were stimulated, whereas DHA activity was reduced. The HYPO and HYPO/EPI biomasses were reduced only in soils contaminated by the 2% Bio-MPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgia Santini & Valeria Memoli & Ermenegilda Vitale & Gabriella Di Natale & Marco Trifuoggi & Giulia Maisto & Lucia Santorufo, 2023. "Metal Release from Microplastics to Soil: Effects on Soil Enzymatic Activities and Spinach Production," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3106-:d:1064121
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3106/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/4/3106/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Filippos Bantis & Mariangela Fotelli & Zoran S. Ilić & Athanasios Koukounaras, 2020. "Physiological and Phytochemical Responses of Spinach Baby Leaves Grown in a PFAL System with LEDs and Saline Nutrient Solution," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, November.
    2. Giorgia Santini & Giulia Maisto & Valeria Memoli & Gabriella Di Natale & Marco Trifuoggi & Lucia Santorufo, 2022. "Does the Element Availability Change in Soils Exposed to Bioplastics and Plastics for Six Months?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-10, August.
    3. Valeria Memoli & Speranza Claudia Panico & Lucia Santorufo & Rossella Barile & Gabriella Di Natale & Aldo Di Nunzio & Maria Toscanesi & Marco Trifuoggi & Anna De Marco & Giulia Maisto, 2020. "Do Wildfires Cause Changes in Soil Quality in the Short Term?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-14, July.
    4. Yin, Minhua & Li, Yuannong & Fang, Heng & Chen, Pengpeng, 2019. "Biodegradable mulching film with an optimum degradation rate improves soil environment and enhances maize growth," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 127-137.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Filippos Bantis & Ioanna Chatzigeorgiou & Michail Sismanis & Georgios K. Ntinas & Athanasios Koukounaras, 2024. "Vegetable Production in PFALs: Control of Micro-Environmental Factors, Principal Components and Automated Systems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-13, April.
    2. Zhiwen Song & Lei Zhao & Junguo Bi & Qingyun Tang & Guodong Wang & Yuxiang Li, 2024. "Classification of Degradable Mulch Films and Their Promotional Effects and Limitations on Agricultural Production," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-19, July.
    3. Christos Melissas & Filippos Bantis & Christodoulos Dangitsis & Stefanos Kostas & Athanasios Koukounaras, 2022. "Proposed Light Wavelengths during Healing of Grafted Tomato Seedlings Enhance Their Adaptation to Transplant Shock," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-12, May.
    4. Gao, Xuhua & Xie, Dong & Yang, Chong, 2021. "Effects of a PLA/PBAT biodegradable film mulch as a replacement of polyethylene film and their residues on crop and soil environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    5. Antoanela Patras, 2021. "Effects of Development Stage and Sodium Salts on the Antioxidant Properties of White Cabbage Microgreens," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-10, February.
    6. Hongbo Wang & Hui Cao & Fuchang Jiang & Xingpeng Wang & Yang Gao, 2022. "Analysis of Soil Moisture, Temperature, and Salinity in Cotton Field under Non-Mulched Drip Irrigation in South Xinjiang," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-15, October.
    7. Minhua, Yin & Yanlin, Ma & Yanxia, Kang & Qiong, Jia & Guangping, Qi & Jinghai, Wang & Changkun, Yang & Jianxiong, Yu, 2022. "Optimized farmland mulching improves alfalfa yield and water use efficiency based on meta-analysis and regression analysis," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    8. Liyuan Bo & Xiaomin Mao & Yali Wang, 2022. "Assessing the Applicability of Biodegradable Film Mulching in Northwest China Based on Comprehensive Benefits Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-23, August.
    9. Fang, Heng & Li, Yuannong & Gu, Xiaobo & Li, Yupeng & Chen, Pengpeng, 2021. "Can ridge-furrow with film and straw mulching improve wheat-maize system productivity and maintain soil fertility on the Loess Plateau of China?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    10. Noppol Arunrat & Praeploy Kongsurakan & Lemlem Wondwossen Solomon & Sukanya Sereenonchai, 2024. "Fire Impacts on Soil Properties and Implications for Sustainability in Rotational Shifting Cultivation: A Review," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-23, September.
    11. Yanan Han & Min Wei & Xiaoyan Shi & Dong Wang & Xulong Zhang & Yangyang Zhao & Meng Kong & Xin Song & Zhongkui Xie & Fengmin Li, 2020. "Effects of Tensile Stress and Soil Burial on Mechanical and Chemical Degradation Potential of Agricultural Plastic Films," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-13, September.
    12. Huang, Fangyuan & Liu, Zihan & Li, Zhaoyang & Wang, Bingfan & Zhang, Peng & Jia, ZhiKuan, 2022. "Is biodegradable film an alternative to polyethylene plastic film for improving maize productivity in rainfed agricultural areas? — Evidence from field experiments," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    13. Hongguang Yang & Zhichao Hu & Feng Wu & Kai Guo & Fengwei Gu & Mingzhu Cao, 2023. "The Use and Recycling of Agricultural Plastic Mulch in China: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-24, October.
    14. Zhao, Xiao & Gu, Xiaobo & Yang, Zhichao & Li, Yuannong & Zhang, Li & Zhou, Jiaming, 2022. "Effects of soil preparation and mulching practices together with different urea applications on the water and nitrogen use of winter wheat in semi-humid and drought-prone areas," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 263(C).
    15. Filippos Bantis & Chrysos Kaponas & Charalambos Charalambous & Athanasios Koukounaras, 2021. "Strategic Successive Harvesting of Rocket and Spinach Baby Leaves Enhanced Their Quality and Production Efficiency," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-10, May.
    16. Lucia Santorufo & Valeria Memoli & Speranza Claudia Panico & Giorgia Santini & Rossella Barile & Antonella Giarra & Gabriella Di Natale & Marco Trifuoggi & Anna De Marco & Giulia Maisto, 2021. "Combined Effects of Wildfire and Vegetation Cover Type on Volcanic Soil (Functions and Properties) in a Mediterranean Region: Comparison of Two Soil Quality Indices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-14, May.
    17. Cheruiyot, Wesly Kiprotich & Zhu, Shuang-Guo & Indoshi, Sylvia Ngaira & Wang, Wei & Ren, Ai-Tian & Cheng, Zheng-Guo & Zhao, Ze-Ying & Zhang, Jin-Lin & Lu, Jun-Sheng & Zhang, Xu-Cheng & Munyasya, Alex , 2023. "Shallow-incorporated straw returning further improves rainfed maize productivity, profitability and soil carbon turnover on the basis of plastic film mulching," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    18. Fang, Heng & Li, Yuannong & Gu, Xiaobo & Chen, Pengpeng & Li, Yupeng, 2022. "Root characteristics, utilization of water and nitrogen, and yield of maize under biodegradable film mulching and nitrogen application," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    19. Lucia Santorufo & Valeria Memoli & Speranza Claudia Panico & Francesco Esposito & Luca Vitale & Gabriella Di Natale & Marco Trifuoggi & Rossella Barile & Anna De Marco & Giulia Maisto, 2021. "Impact of Anthropic Activities on Soil Quality under Different Land Uses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-14, August.
    20. Speranza Claudia Panico & Valeria Memoli & Lucia Santorufo & Stefania Aiello & Rossella Barile & Anna De Marco & Giulia Maisto, 2022. "Soil Biological Responses under Different Vegetation Types in Mediterranean Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-17, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3106-:d:1064121. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.