Witter, Ernst
- Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract
The discovery in the early 1980s that soil microorganisms, and in particular the symbiotic bacteria Rhizobium, were highly sensitive to heavy metals initiated a new line of research. This has given us important insights into a range of topics: ecotoxicology, bioavailability of heavy metals, the role of soil biodiversity, and the existence of 'keystone' organisms. Concurrently, and particularly in Europe, the research led to new approaches to the protection of soils from pollution that take into account the many effects on soil microorganisms. To date these key findings have largely been ignored in the USA, although our results caused considerable controversy there. In the past decade there have been many advances in the ecotoxicological assessment of metals and their effects on soil organisms but major gaps in knowledge and theory remain with regard to how microorganisms are exposed and respond to metals in soils. In this brief review we emphasise the need for long-term experiments and basic research to forge this understanding and improve environmental protection policies
Published in
Soil Biology and Biochemistry
2009, volume: 41, number: 10, pages: 2031-2037
Publisher: Elsevier
SLU Authors
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation
Agricultural Science
Publication identifier
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.04.026
Permanent link to this page (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/31048