Toxicity of copper to the collembolan Folsomia fimetaria in relation to the age of soil contamination.

The toxicity of copper to the collembolan Folsomia fimetaria L. was studied in soil incubated with copper sulfate for different periods before the introduction of collembolans, to assess the effect of aging of contamination on the toxicity of copper. Adult survival, reproduction, and juvenile size were assessed. No clear influence of differences in contamination age was detected. The data were compared with results from a study performed in soil sampled at an old copper-contaminated site. Large differences in effects existed between spiked soil and field soil when concentrations were expressed on the basis of total soil copper concentrations. EC(10) and EC(50) values for reproduction in spiked soil were ca. 700 and 1400 mg Cu/kg soil, whereas no effects were found in field soil at copper concentrations up to 2500 mg/kg. Most of the differences disappeared when effects were expressed as a function of 0.01 M CaCl(2)-extractable soil copper. the lack of effects in field soil could be explained from the fact that in this field soil the CaCl(2)-extractable concentration was never higher than one-third of the EC(50) estimated for tests in the laboratory spiked soils.