Modeling the effect of biodegradable paper and plastic mulch on soil moisture dynamics

Mustafa Saglam, Henry Y. Sintim, Andy I. Bary, Carol A. Miles, Shuresh Ghimire, Debra A. Inglis and Markus Flury

Agricultural Water Management, 2017, vol. 193, issue C, 240-250

Abstract: Plastic mulch films are often used in agriculture to conserve soil moisture. Most of the plastic mulch currently used worldwide is made of non-biodegradable polyethylene, which has to be removed and disposed after harvest, incurring significant environmental costs. Biodegradable paper or plastic mulch could offer a valuable alternative to polyethylene. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of biodegradable mulches and standard polyethylene mulch on soil moisture dynamics during a growing season. A field experiment was carried out with pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), which were irrigated and grown on raised beds covered with the following mulch treatments: no mulch, biodegradable paper, biodegradable plastic, and polyethylene. Soil moisture was measured at 10- and 20-cm depths. A numerical model (HYDRUS-2D) was used to simulate the moisture dynamics under the different mulch treatments, each represented by different boundary conditions at the soil surface. Polyethylene mulch, which created an impermeable surface layer, effectively reduced evaporation and maintained highest water content among the treatments. Biodegradable paper mulch, which was partially permeable to evaporation and rainfall throughout the growing season, resulted in soil moisture that was intermediate between that obtained for no mulch and polyethylene. Biodegradable plastic mulch, which was similar to that of polyethylene mulch initially in terms of effects on soil moisture, disintegrated during the growing season and allowed rainfall to penetrate and water to evaporate from the soil surface. Field data and model simulations both indicate that the biodegradable paper and plastic mulches provide comparable soil moisture dynamics as polyethylene mulch.

Keywords: Biodegradable paper mulch; Biodegradable plastic mulch; Polyethylene mulch; Soil moisture; Evaporation; HYDRUS-2D (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377417302676
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:193:y:2017:i:c:p:240-250

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2017.08.011

Access Statistics for this article

Agricultural Water Management is currently edited by B.E. Clothier, W. Dierickx, J. Oster and D. Wichelns

More articles in Agricultural Water Management from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().