ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Microbiotechnology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1674576
This article is part of the Research TopicMicrobial Degradation of Agricultural WasteView all articles
Comparison of decomposition of Biodegradable Mulching Films under Variable Soil Microbial Conditions
Provisionally accepted
Sungjae Kim1
Jun Yeop Shim2Kyoung Min Park2Dong il Park2Na Young Heo2Su Jin Hwang3Sung Hoon Park3
Hyeon Woo Chung3Jae Myun Lee3
HeeChun Chung3,4*- 1Kyungbok University - Namyangju Campus, Namyangju-si, Republic of Korea
- 22R&F Chemical Co., Ltd, A7-011, 550 Misa-daero Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do 12925, Republic of Korea, Hanamsi, Republic of Korea
- 3Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute for Immunology and Immunological Diseases, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 4Yonsei University Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Seodaemun-gu, Republic of Korea
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Introduction: Biodegradable mulching films (BDMs) are sustainable alternatives to polyethylene, but their degradation efficiency is strongly influenced by soil microbial composition. This study investigated the effects of Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium perfringens, two soil bacteria with distinct metabolic traits, on the decomposition of BDMs with different structures. Methods: Three biodegradable films (BDM1, BDM2, BDM3) and a polyethylene control were buried in soils containing native microbes, B. subtilis, or C. perfringens and incubated for 210 days. Degradation was evaluated by weight loss, soil pH, microbial viability, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of surface morphology. Results: All BDMs degraded significantly more than polyethylene. The monolayer BDM3 exhibited the greatest weight loss and surface damage. Soils inoculated with C. perfringens underwent strong acidification (final pH < 5.5), which accelerated degradation, especially in CaCO₃-containing films. Although C. perfringens viability declined over time, accumulated acids sustained film breakdown. By contrast, B. subtilis maintained higher soil populations, promoted gradual degradation, and preserved near-neutral pH, resulting in moderate weight loss. Discussion: These findings demonstrate that soil pH modulation and microbial activity jointly determine BDM degradation. While C. perfringens enhanced film loss through acidification, its agricultural use may pose risks including excessive soil acidification and pathogenicity. B. subtilis provided safer but slower biodegradation. Among the tested films, monolayer BDM3 was most susceptible to breakdown, making it a promising candidate for field application. Careful management of microbial inoculants and soil pH will be essential to maximize BDM performance and environmental safety.
Keywords: Biodegradable mulching films, Bacillus subtilis, Clostridium perfringens, pH, Soil
Received: 28 Jul 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kim, Shim, Park, Park, Heo, Hwang, Park, Chung, Lee and Chung. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: HeeChun Chung, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute for Immunology and Immunological Diseases, College of Medicine, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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