Current developments in soil ecotoxicology and the need for strengthening soil ecotoxicology in Europe: results of a stakeholder workshop

Using nematodes in soil ecotoxicology.

Nematodes represent a very abundant group of soil organisms and non-parasitic species are important for soil quality and in the soil food web. In recent years, it has been shown that nematodes are appropriate bioindicators of soil condition and they are also suitable organisms for laboratory toxicity testing. The aims of this paper are to overview and critically assess methods and approaches fo...

Soil ecotoxicology: state of the art and future directions

Developments in soil ecotoxicology started with observations on pesticide effects on soil invertebrates in the 1960s. To support the risk assessment of chemicals, in the 1980s and 1990s development of toxicity tests was the main issue, including single species tests and also more realistic test systems like model ecosystems and field tests focusing on structural and functional endpoints. In the...

Influence of soil properties on the performance of Folsomia candida: implications for its use in soil ecotoxicology testing.

Nineteen Mediterranean natural soils with a wide range of properties and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) artificial soil were used to assess the influence of soil properties on the results of avoidance and reproduction tests carried out with the soil collembolan species Folsomia candida. Compared to natural soils, the OECD soil was mostly rejected by individual...

Ecotoxicology.

Avoidance, biomass and survival response of soil dwelling (endogeic) earthworms to OECD artificial soil: potential implications for earthworm ecotoxicology

Soil dwelling earthworms are now adopted more widely in ecotoxicology, so it is vital to establish if standardised test parameters remain applicable. The main aim of this study was to determine the influence of OECD artificial soil on selected soil-dwelling, endogeic earthworm species. In an initial experiment, biomass change in mature Allolobophora chlorotica was recorded in Standard OECD Arti...