title: The variability of standard artificial soils: effects on the survival and reproduction of springtail (Folsomia candida) and potworm (Enchytraeus crypticus).
abstract: Recent studies have documented significant variability in the basic properties of artificial soil which is used as a standard medium in soil bioassays. Variability in key soil properties could confound the interpretation of toxicity data and bias the output of bioassays. The main aims of this study were (i) to identify the variability in the endpoints survival and reproduction of Folsomia candida and Enchytraeus crypticus related to the artificials soils prepared in different laboratories and (ii) to identify the specific physico-chemical properties of the artificial soils which influence the bioassays results. The results of reproduction tests showed that nearly all tested artificial soils were suitable for the survival and reproduction of both organisms as the validity criteria from the test standards were fulfilled. However, numbers of juveniles varied significantly among soils. The most important factor for F. candida performance was a coarser soil structure. C:N ratio (<22.6) were important for the reproduction of E. crypticus. Both species tolerated a pH (KCl) of artificial soils in the range of 4.27-6.8 and even low TOC (1.5%). Thus, it is possible to reduce peat content in artificial soils, which may increase the comparability of results to those for natural soils.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (Recetox), Faculty of science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vašíčková
authors.affiliation: Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture, Hroznová 2, Brno CZ-65606, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Váňa
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (Recetox), Faculty of science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Klára
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Komprdová
authors.affiliation: Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (Recetox), Faculty of science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 753/5, Brno CZ-62500, Czech Republic. Electronic address: hofman@recetox.muni.cz.
authors.forename: Jakub
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hofman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000254:growth & development*; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000254:growth & development*; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000592:standards*; D016019:Survival Analysis
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Artificial soil; Bioassays; Enchytraeus crypticus; Folsomia candida; Reproduction