Summary
The effect of two pesticides, oxamyl and chlordane, on nontarget soil biota were examined in microcosms. Neither oxamyl nor chlordane had an effect on rates of litter decomposition or soil and litter respiration. There were differences in numbers of nematodes and protozoans and in biomass of bacteria and fungi in microcosms with and without chlordane on some sampling dates. One of the nematodes, Pelodera sp., died out in all of the microcosms within 30 days. Although the pesticide chlordane had no measurable effect on the activities of the soil biota as measured by respiration and mass loss, it did affect the population sizes and biomass of some grazers of soil biota.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bollen GJ (1979) Side effects of pesticides on microbial interactions. In: Schippers B, Gams W (eds) Soil-borne plant pathogens. Academic, New York, pp 451–481
Bremner JM, Mulvaney CS (1982) Nitrogen-total. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis. Part 2. Chemical and Microbiological Properties (2nd ed). American Society of Agronomy Inc., Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, pp 595–624
Bromilow R (1973) Breakdown and fate of oxime carbamate nematicides in crops and soils. Ann Appl Biol 75:413–429
Coleman DC, Anderson RV, Cole CV, Elliott ET, Woods L, Campion MK (1978) Trophic interactions in soils as they affect energy and nutrient dynamics. IV. Flows of metabolic and biomass carbon. Microb Ecol 4:373–380
Coleman DC, Ingham RE, McClellan JF, Trofymow JA (1984) Soil nutrient transformations in the rhizosphere via animal-microbial interactions. In: Anderson JM, Rayner ADM, Walton DWH (eds) Invertebrate-microbial interactions. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 35–58
Cutler DW (1920) A method for estimating the number of active protozoa in the soil. J Agric Sci 10:135–143
Elkins NZ, Whitford WG (1982) The role of microarthropods and nematodes in decomposition in a semi-arid ecosystem. Oecologia 55:303–310
Elliott ET, Coleman DC (1977) Soil protozoan dynamics in a short grass prairie. Soil Biol Biochem 6:113–118
Elliott ET, Coleman DC, Cole CV (1979) The influence of amoebae on the uptake of nitrogen by plants in gnotobiotic soils. In: Harley JL, Russell RS (eds) The soil-root interface. Academic, London, pp 221–229
Fowler HG, Whitford WG (1980) Termites, micro arthropods, and the decomposition of senescent and fresh creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) leaf litter. J Arid Environ 3:63–68
Hanlon RDG, Anderson JM (1979) The effects of collembola grazing on microbial activity in decomposing leaf litter. Oecologia 38:93–99
Helling CS, Kearny PC, Alexander M (1971) Behavior of pesticides in soils. Adv Agron 23:147–240
Jenkins WR (1964) A rapid centrifugal-flotation technique for separating nematodes from soil. Plant Disease Rep 48:692
Keeney DR, Nelson DW (1982) Nitrogen-inorganic forms. In: Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR (eds) Methods of soil analysis, Part 2, Chemical and Microbiological Properties (2nd ed). American Society of Agronomy, Inc., Soil Science Society of America, Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, pp 643–698
Macauley BJ (1975) Biodegradation of litter in Eucalyptus pauciflora communities. I. Techniques for comparing the effects of fungi and insects. Soil Biol Biochem 7:341–344
Malone CR, Reichle DE (1973) Chemical manipulation of soil biota in a fescue meadow. Soil Biol Biochem 5:629–639
Mather SP, Hamilton HA, Vrain TC (1980) Influence of some field-applied nematicides on microflora and mineral nutrients in an organic soil. J Environ Sci Health B15:61–76
Nash RG, Woolson EA (1967) Persistence of chlorinated hydrocarbon insecticides in soils. Science 157:924–927
Olsen FCW (1950) Quantitative estimates of filamentous algae. Trans Amer Micros Soc 59:272–292
Parker LW, Fowler HG, Ettershank G, Whitford WG (1982) The effects of subterranean termite removal on desert soil nitrogen and ephemeral flora. J. Arid Environ 5:53–59
Parker LW, Santos PF, Philips J, Whitford WG (1984) Carbon and nitrogen dynamics during the decomposition of litter and roots of a Chihuahuan desert annual. Ecol Monogr 54:339–360
Santos PF, Phillips J, Whitford WG (1981) The role of mites and nematodes in early stages of buried litter decomposition in a desert. Ecology 62:664–669
Singh BN (1946) A method of estimating the numbers of soil protozoa, especially amoebae, based on their differential feeding on bacteria. Ann Appl Biol 33:112–119
Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ (1969) Biometry: The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. W.H. Freeman and Co., San Francisco
Thompson AR, Edwards CA (1974) Effects of pesticides on nontarget invertebrates in freshwater and soil. In: Guenzi WD (ed) Pesticides in soil and water. Soil Sci Soc Am, Madison, pp 341–386
Tu CM (1980) Influence of pesticides and some of the oxidized analogues on microbial populations, nitrification and respiration activities in soil. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 24:13–19
Tu CM (1981) Effects of some pesticides on some enzyme activities in an organic soil. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 27:109–114
Tu CM (1981) Effects of pesticides on activities of enzymes and microorganisms in a clay soil. J Environ Sci Health B16:179–191
VanVeen JA, Paul EA (1979) Conversion of biovolume measurements of soil organisms, grown under various moisture tensions, to biomass and their nutrient content. Appl Environ Microbiol 37:686–692
Witkamp M, Crossley DA, Jr (1966) The role of arthropods and microflora in breakdown of white oak litter. Pedobiologia 6:293–303
Woods LW, Cole CV, Elliott ET, Anderson RV, Coleman DC (1982) Nitrogen transformation in soil as affected by bacterialmicrofaunal interactions. Soil Biol Biochem 14:93–98
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Parker, L.W., Ryder-White, J., Thomas, S. et al. Effects of oxamyl and chlordane on the activities of nontarget soil organisms. Biol Fert Soils 1, 141–148 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00301781
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00301781