Fig. 6: Integrated mitigation strategies to reduce reliance on plastic mulch. | Nature Communications

Fig. 6: Integrated mitigation strategies to reduce reliance on plastic mulch.

From: Plastic mulch productivity-sustainability tradeoffs and pathways toward an eco-friendly framework: insights from a global meta-analysis

Fig. 6: Integrated mitigation strategies to reduce reliance on plastic mulch.The alternative text for this image may have been generated using AI.

a alternative mulches (e.g., crop straw) to conserve soil moisture; b recycling and reusing plastics and developing thicker and biodegradable films; c improved plastic use efficiency via partial mulching or crop-specific application; d integrated cropping systems that gradually replace plastic mulch with alternatives, such as organic mulches, or diversified cropping systems, such as cereal–legume intercropping; e bioengineered ‘smart’ mulches; and f policy support focusing on subsidies, tax credits, AI-driven smart mulches, CRISPR-edited crops, circular economies (plastic-to-biochar), UN’s Plastic Treaty, and local plastic reduction policies. Goal: sustainable agriculture combining food security, soil health, and environmental protection.

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