Quantifying the compensatory effect of increased soil temperature under plastic film mulching on crop growing degree days in a wheat–maize rotation system

•The compensatory effect (CE) under plastic mulching (PM) had a time window.•Crop apical meristem emergence can be the reference terminal time for the CE.•CE disappeared due to no soil temperature increases around wheat regreening stage.•For summer maize, CE did not last by the unfavorable delayed senescence under PM.•Compensatory coefficient can be calculated by inflection points of logistic equation.