title: Herbicide impact on non-target plant reproduction: what are the toxicological and ecological implications?
abstract: Declining plant diversity and abundance have been widely reported in agro-ecosystems of North America and Europe. Intensive use of herbicides within cropfields and the associated drift in adjacent habitats are partly responsible for this change. The objectives of this work were to quantify the phenological stages of non-target plants in in-situ field situations during herbicide spray and to compare plant susceptibility at different phenological stages. Results demonstrated that a large number of non-target plants had reached reproductive stages during herbicide spray events in woodlots and hedgerows, both in Canada and Denmark where vegetation varies considerably. In addition, delays in flowering and reduced seed production occurred widely on plants sprayed at the seedling stage or at later reproductive periods, with plants sprayed at reproductive stages often exhibiting more sensitivity than those sprayed as seedlings. Ecological risk assessments need to include reproductive endpoints.
authors: Environment Canada, Science & Technology Branch, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Raven Rd., Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3, Canada. Electronic address: Celine.Boutin@ec.gc.ca.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Boutin
authors: Aarhus Universitet, Department of Bioscience, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600 Silkeborg, Denmark.
authors: B
authors: B
authors: Strandberg
authors: Environment Canada, Science & Technology Branch, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Raven Rd., Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3, Canada. Electronic address: David.Carpenter@ec.gc.ca.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Carpenter
authors: Aarhus Universitet, Department of Agroecology, Forsøgsvej 1, 4200 Slagelse, Denmark.
authors: S K
authors: SK
authors: Mathiassen
authors: Environment Canada, Science & Technology Branch, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Raven Rd., Carleton University, Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3, Canada.
authors: P J
authors: PJ
authors: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D004463:Ecology; D017753:Ecosystem; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000633:toxicity*; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity*; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena / Q000187:drug effects*; D010944:Plants; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012639:Seeds
chemical_list: D015386:Hazardous Substances; D006540:Herbicides
keywords: Ecological risk assessment; Ecotoxicological implications; Herbicide effect; Non-crop habitats; Non-target plant reproduction