SUITABILITY OF 7 SPECIES OF SOIL-INHABITING INVERTEBRATES FOR TESTINGTOXICITY OF PESTICIDES IN SOIL PORE-WATER

The importance of the soil liquid phase (or pore water) for assessment of hazard and risk of contaminants to soil organisms has recently bee n recognized by several researchers. A particular concentration of con taminant in the pore water of different soils has been shown to produc e similar toxicological effects. A particular content of contaminant i n the soil as a whole, however, exhibits a range of toxicity in differ ent soils. These insights raised the need for tests in which soil orga nisms are exposed to chemicals in natural or surrogate pore water. The present study assessed the suitability of seven species of soil inver tebrate for carrying out toxicological tests for pesticides in water. Requirements were that the organisms had to survive in water, be easy to handle, be easy to bread, be sensitive to pesticides, and show unam biguous toxicological effects. The organisms tested were the nematodes Plectus parietinus and Globodera rostochiensis, the white potworms En chytraeus buchholzi and Euchytraeus albidus, the manure worm Eisenia f etida, the mite Caloglyphus mycophagus and the springtail Folsomia can dida. The springtail Folsomia candida met all the requirements and pro ved to be the most suitable of the organisms tested for soil quality a ssessment using soil pore water.