Effects of Combined Pollution of High-Density Polyethylene and Cadmium on Carbon and Nitrogen Storage and Forms in Coastal Wetland Soil

Ziying Nie, Shiyan Xu, Xuejing Zang, Huihua Lyu, Zhiquan Wang, Shengbing He, Daolin Du and Jian Li ()
Additional contact information
Ziying Nie: School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Shiyan Xu: School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Xuejing Zang: School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Huihua Lyu: Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetland Research Institute, Yancheng 224051, China
Zhiquan Wang: School of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035, China
Shengbing He: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Daolin Du: School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
Jian Li: School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effects of HDPE and Cd on forms of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) by measuring the changes in enzymatic activities and physicochemical properties of Spartina alterniflora soil samples from coastal regions of China. Over three incubation periods (14, 28, and 56 days), a soil incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of HDPE (0, 0.5, 1, and 2 g per 100 g of soil) and Cd (0, 2, 4, and 8 mg kg −1 ) on soil physicochemical properties. The results demonstrated that the sole presence of HDPE had a notable impact on enhancing the C-related physicochemical properties of the soil, particularly by elevating the concentration of Total Organic Carbon (TOC). The sole addition of Cd significantly suppressed enzymic activities in the soil, leading to a considerable reduction in the concentration of NH 4 + -N and NO 3 − -N. Under identical Cd treatment conditions, the introduction of 1 g HDPE led to an increase in the concentration of TOC, and the inhibitory effect of Cd on enzymic activities was decreased; thus, an elevated consumption of soluble organic carbon (DOC) was identified. However, upon adding 2 g of HDPE, while the TOC concentration continued to rise, the stimulatory effect on enzymic activities diminished. In conclusion, the addition of HDPE inhibits, to a certain extent, the influence of Cd on the carbon and nitrogen cycling in soil.

Keywords: microplastic; elementary form; heavy metal; soil enzymatic activity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/565/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/5/565/ (text/html)

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:gam:jagris:v:15:y:2025:i:5:p:565-:d:1607013

Access Statistics for this article

Agriculture is currently edited by Ms. Leda Xuan

More articles in Agriculture from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().