Cropland Microplastics in Xinjiang: Unveiling Distribution and Impact of Mulching Film Residues

Microplastics, ubiquitous environmental pollutants, pose a significant threat to agricultural ecosystems and food safety. Xinjiang, a critical dryland agricultural region in China, faces a pressing issue with microplastic accumulation due to extensive use of mulching film. This study addresses this challenge by combining feild investigation, lab analysis, and remote sensing observations:

• Developing an improved, batch-processed soil microplastics extraction method, optimizing cost and time.
• Extracting and analyzing microplastics from typical Xinjiang cropland soil, revealing their distribution patterns and influencing factors.
• Establishing a model linking microplastic abundance to cumulative mulching film years, providing a predictive tool.
• Combining the model with remote sensing data to unveil the regional distribution of microplastics across Xinjiang croplands.

Our findings provide:

• A deeper understanding of microplastic pollution dynamics in mulching film-based agriculture.
• A robust method for assessing and predicting microplastic contamination in croplands.
• Valuable data for informing mitigation strategies and policy decisions.

This study paves the way for effective microplastic management and for examining their environmental impacts in Xinjiang and beyond, safeguarding agricultural productivity and environmental health. Future study efforts are encouraged to examine local and remote impacts of soil microplastics in Xinjiang and beyond.