HighlightsOur study can provide a comprehensive assessment on the impacts of the plastic film mulching.We assessed the effects of plastic film mulching on soil physical and biochemical properties.The spring maize yield was significantly increased with plastic film mulching in Northwest China.

Highlights Plastic increased total plant 15 N uptake rather than Open. More residual 15 N was recovered in 0–120 cm soil under Plastic than under Open. The ridge was the main N fertilizer source for plant uptake. Lateral N movements from furrow to ridge and from ridge to furrow were observed.

Water stress during two maize (Zea mays L.) growing seasons (2013 and 2014) was investigated in a semiarid region of northwest China. The HYDRUS-1D model gave good simulation of the soil water content in different layers throughout a 0-to 200-cm depth during the maize growing season, with R 2 values of 70.6 and 77.0% for the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Water stress for maize production was observed in June of 2013 and in July of 2014. The soil water storage (SWS) decreased significantly during the early stage of the maize growing season, especially in 2014. The root depth and crop height were 20 cm deeper and 100 cm higher, respectively, in 2014 than in 2013 at the early stage. These results suggest that in the early stage of the maize growing season, pre-seeding SWS can alleviate crop water stress effectively via deep roots. Model simulation showed that the plow pan layer (at a depth of 20-40 cm), with high soil bulk density and a lower soil water retention curve, significantly reduced infiltration. High evapotranspiration and low precipitation result in a temporary dry layer during the early stage, highlighting the plow pan as the sensitive layer for water stress during the drought period. Effective management practices such as deep plowing, plastic film mulching, or water conservation treatments in the fallow period are needed to avoid the formation of this temporary dry layer during the drought period at the early stage and thus improve maize production in rainfed agriculture on the Loess Plateau of China.Abbreviations: ET, evapotranspiration; LAI, leaf area index; RT, root uptake; SWS, soil water storage.