Are Biodegradable Mulches Actually Better for the Environment? (Part II)
In a continuation of last week’s post, Henry Sintim, PhD student at Washington State University is investigating whether biodegradable mulches are, in fact, what they claim to be (see part I).
Lysimeter readings revealed higher EC measurements.
Leaching
Sintim and his team want to understand what’s leaching through the soil as the mulches degrade. He installed passive capillary lysimeters at a 55 cm depth to collect leachate samples for analysis of BDM particulates. He was surprised when the lysimeter readings revealed higher EC measurements. However, the EC in the PE, paper mulch, and no-mulch treatments were also high, hence that could be due to the leaching of accumulated salts in the soil surface. He says, “We have yet to examine the leachate samples for the presence of particulates.”
Installing lysimeters
Composting Alternatives
If the team finds that some of the BDMs do not biodegrade very well in the field, the alternative could be on-farm composting, which would be more viable than having to deal with polyethylene plastic. Sintim and his research team have set up a composting study where they have been digitizing the images of the mulches degrading. He adds, “We buried the mulches in a mesh bag, and periodically we retrieve the bags to study the mulch. There was some black staining on the mesh bag, which we suspect is a nanoparticle called, “carbon black,” used as reinforcing filler in tires and other rubber products.
The team buried the mulches in compost, and periodically they retrieve the mesh bags to study the mulch.
Sintim says the manufacturers do not disclose the actual constituents of their mulches, so he has arranged to examine the mesh bags with WSU’s scanning electron microscope in order to confirm that the stains were due to the presence of particulates. Sintim confirmed that carbon black was used in their experimental BDM, but they don’t know whether the carbon black was made from petroleum products, as there is non-petroleum-based carbon black. He is going to determine whether these particles leach through soil by examining leachate samples from the lysimeter. He will also perform more tests to make sure that these nanoparticles are not going to have any adverse effects on the agro-ecosystem.
What’s in the Future?
While Sintim and his colleagues have made important discoveries, there is still work to be done. He and his team are going to collect three more years’ worth of data to see if there really is a BDM that delivers on its promises and if leaching particles pose a threat to the groundwater.
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