Ph. Krogh et Mb. Pedersen, ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS ASSESSMENT OF INDUSTRIAL SLUDGE FOR MICROARTHROPODS AND DECOMPOSITION IN A SPRUCE PLANTATION, Ecotoxicology and environmental safety, 36(2), 1997, pp. 162-168
Effects of dried, granulated industrial sludge-containing residues of
organic pesticides and precursors were assessed for microarthropod fau
na and the decomposition of a spruce forest floor. The investigation w
as highly realistic, using large plots of about 1/2 ha, and the applic
ation was done with professional equipment. The ecological effects of
the sludge were compared with the ecological effects of an inorganic f
ertilizer, Decreases in abundance of the microarthropods ranged from 2
0 to 80% of the control level after 1 year. Isotoma notabilis Schaffer
was the only species that exhibited stimulation at twice the control
level due to the sludge. The least affected collembolan species was Le
pidocyrtus cyaneus Tullberg, a member of the surface-dwelling life for
ms, Sensitive species were Isotoma anglicana Lubbock and Isotomiella m
inor Schaffer. In subhabitats with almost no application of sludge due
to a heterogeneous horizontal distribution, the microarthropods were
still affected to the same degree as those in the zones of maximum app
lication. Laboratory tests with Folsomia candida Willem gave results s
imilar to the effects on field populations concerning the sludge but r
evealed no adverse effects of the fertilizer, Decomposition was stimul
ated to the same extent in the field by the two types of fertilizer bu
t in the laboratory the sludge caused the largest stimulation. The eff
ects on the microarthropod fauna are suggested to be the result of a c
ombination of direct toxicity and changes in the microbial community d
ue to fertilizers. (C) 1997 Academic Press.