title: A comparative study on the impact of phthalate esters on soil microbial activity.
abstract: In this study, an isothermal microcalorimetric technique was used to demonstrate the impact of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DOP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP) on soil microbial activity. The effect of these phthalate esters (≤100 μg g⁻¹ soil) follows the order: DEP > DMP > DOP but changed to DMP > DEP > DOP when the concentrations of the phthalate esters are above 100 μg g⁻¹ soil. DMP, DEP and DOP significantly decreased (p < 0.05) the soil urease activity. The effect of phthalate esters on soil microbial activity is not the same with those on enzymatic activity. In addition, DEP, which has a lower bioavailability, is less toxic to soil microbes than that of DMP when its concentration is above 100 μg g⁻¹ soil.
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and National International Cooperation Based on Environment and Energy, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30 Xueyuan Road, Beijing 100083, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huilun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Rensheng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yiguang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D004952:Esters / Q000633:toxicity*; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000633:toxicity*; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014510:Urease / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004952:Esters; D010795:Phthalic Acids; C024629:dimethyl phthalate; C010715:di-n-octyl phthalate; D014510:Urease; C007379:diethyl phthalate