Cascading effects from soil to maize functional traits explain maize response to microplastics disturbance in multi-nutrient soil environment
Ziqi Guo,
Peng Li,
Lihui Ma,
Xiaomei Yang,
Jinqiu Yang,
Yang Wu,
Guobin Liu,
Coen J. Ritsema,
Violette Geissen
Affiliations
Ziqi Guo
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Peng Li
Chendu Engineering Corporation Limited, Power China, Chendu 610072, China
Lihui Ma
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China; Corresponding author at: State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China.
Xiaomei Yang
College of Natural Resources and Environment, Northwest A&F University, 712100 Yangling, China; Wageningen University & Research, Soil Physics and Land Management, POB 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands
Jinqiu Yang
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Yang Wu
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China
Guobin Liu
State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A & F University, Yangling 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling 712100, China
Coen J. Ritsema
Wageningen University & Research, Soil Physics and Land Management, POB 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands
Violette Geissen
Wageningen University & Research, Soil Physics and Land Management, POB 47, NL-6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands
Microplastics (MPs) is a major threat to agroecosystems. Their accumulation and impacts should be evaluated to advance our understanding of soil function and health. Uncovering the role of cascade effects in regulating crop growth is crucial to understanding the link between MPs disturbance and environmental functions. Therefore, we aimed to assess how the cascade changes between (non-) biological factors and functional traits of maize regulate the response of maize growth to MPs in different nutrient soil environments. We found that soil dehydration induced by MPs may disrupt the balance of the physiological status of maize, negatively affect photosynthetic performance, and enhance competition among organisms for limited nutrients. However, root-responsive nutrient cues with a high degree of tectonic freedom allowed adaptive phenotypic plasticity to occur, masking the negative effects of MPs. In nutrient-rich soil environments, moderate and high intensity (>0.5 %) MPs disturbances initiated root nutrient foraging activities, and maize tended to decrease its cost of investing in root construction, i.e., increasing specific root length (SRL) to promote its own growth. The growth of maize was mainly characterized by increases in the belowground biomass (BGB, 7.11 to 20.81 g) and aboveground biomass (AGB, 61.11 to 118.26 g). Our study suggests that a cascade effect between environmental factors initiated by MPs and the functional architecture of the maize root system drives maize to regulate its growth by responding to nutrient cues. These findings will help to ensure food security, formulate environmental risk management policies and protect soil health, especially in the context of future agriculture.
