Evaluating the Effects of Conventional Polyethylene and Biodegradable Film Mulching on Soil Fauna Abundance and Diversity in a Rice Cropping System.

Biodegradable film mulching has been developed as promising alternative to overcome the adverse effects posed by conventional polyethylene film mulching in cropping systems. However, evidence regarding whether conventional polyethylene and biodegradable film mulching affect soil fauna in cropping systems still remains unknown. This study was therefore designed to examine the differences in the responses of soil fauna and selected physicochemical parameters under different mulch treatments, i.e., polyethylene film mulch (PE), biodegradable film mulches (BMs1-5), biodegradable paper (BP) and no-mulch control (CK), in a rice cropland. The results demonstrated that all mulch treatments significantly increased soil temperature (p < 0.001) and reduced soil pH (p < 0.05) and electrical conductivity (p < 0.01) without significantly affecting soil organic content and water content compared to CK. Regarding soil fauna, during the growing stage, the abundance of soil fauna under all of the mulch treatments declined (39%) compared to CK. However, during the harvesting stage, soil faunal abundance was 54% and 45% higher under BP and BMs, respectively, compared with PE. No significant differences were observed in richness, diversity, or evenness among the mulch treatments. This study provides insight into the benefits of environmentally friendly film mulching in terms of biodiversity conservation and soil health.