Background Inappropriate disposal of the plastic mulching debris could create macroplastics (MaPs) and microplastics (MiPs) pollution in agricultural soil. Methods To study the effects of farming systems on accumulation and distribution of agricultural plastic debris, research was carried out on two farming systems in Northwest China. Farming in Wutong Village (S1) is characterized by small plots and low-intensity machine tillage while farming in Shihezi (S2) is characterized by large plots and high-intensity machine tillage. In September 2017, we selected six fields in S1, three fields with 6–8 years of continuous plastic mulching (CM) as well as three fields with over 30 years of intermittent mulching (IM). In S2, we selected five cotton fields with 6, 7, 8, 15 and 18 years of continuous mulching. In both regions, MaPs and MiPs from soil surface to 30 cm depth (0–30 cm) were sampled. Results The results showed that in S1, MaPs mass in fields with 6–8 years CM (i.e., 97.4kg·ha−1) were significantly higher than in fields with 30 years IM (i.e., 53.7 kg·ha−1). MaPs in size category of 10–50 cm2 accounted for 46.9% in fields of CM and 44.5% in fields of IM of total collected MaPs number. In S2, MaPs mass ranged from 43.5 kg·ha−1 to 148 kg·ha−1. MaPs in size category of 2–10 cm2 account for 41.1% of total collected MaPs number while 0.25–2 cm2 accounted for 40.6%. MiPs in S1 were mainly detected in fields with over 30 years of intermittent mulching (up to 2,200 particles·kg−1 soil), whereas in S2 were detected in all fields (up to 900 particles·kg−1 soil). The results indicated farming systems could substantially affect the accumulation and distribution of agricultural plastic debris. Continuous plastic mulching could accumulate higher amount of MaPs than intermittent plastic mulching. High-intensity machine tillage could lead to higher fragmentation of MaPs and more severe MiPs pollution. These results suggest that agricultural plastic regulations are needed.

中文翻译：

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地膜覆盖对西北两种耕作系统土壤中微塑料和微塑料积累和分布的影响

背景 塑料覆盖碎片的不当处理可能会在农业土壤中产生大塑料 (MaPs) 和微塑料 (MiPs) 污染。方法为研究耕作制度对农业塑料碎片积累和分布的影响，对西北地区的两个耕作制度进行了研究。梧桐村（S1）以小地块、低强度机耕为特征，石河子（S2）以大地块、高强度机耕为特征。2017 年 9 月，我们在 S1 中选择了 6 个田地，3 个连续覆盖 6-8 年的田地（CM）以及 3 个超过 30 年的间歇覆盖（IM）田地。在 S2 中，我们选择了连续覆盖 6、7、8、15 和 18 年的 5 个棉田。在这两个地区，从土壤表面到 30 厘米深度（0-30 厘米）的地图和 MiP 被采样。结果结果表明，在S1，CM 6~8年田间的MaPs质量（即97.4kg·ha-1）显着高于IM 30年（即53.7 kg·ha-1）的田间。10-50 cm2 大小类别的 Maps 占 CM 领域的 46.9% 和 IM 领域的 44.5%。在 S2 中，MaPs 的质量范围为 43.5 kg·ha-1 到 148 kg·ha-1。2-10 cm2 大小类别的 MapPs 占总采集 Maps 数量的 41.1%，而 0.25-2 cm2 占 40.6%。S1 中的 MiPs 主要在间歇覆盖超过 30 年的田间（最多 2,200 个颗粒·kg-1 土壤）中检测到，而在 S2 中，在所有田地中都检测到（最多 900 个颗粒·kg-1 土壤）。结果表明，农业系统可能会严重影响农业塑料碎片的积累和分布。与间歇性地膜覆盖相比，连续地膜覆盖可以积累更多的地图。高强度机器耕作可能导致更高的地图碎片化和更严重的 MiP 污染。这些结果表明需要制定农业塑料法规。