title: The impact of chemical pollution on the resilience of soils under multiple stresses: A conceptual framework for future research.
abstract: Soils are faced with man-made chemical stress factors, such as the input of organic or metal-containing pesticides, in combination with non-chemical stressors like soil compaction and natural disturbance like drought. Although multiple stress factors are typically co-occurring in soil ecosystems, research in soil sciences on this aspect is limited and focuses mostly on single structural or functional endpoints. A mechanistic understanding of the reaction of soils to multiple stressors is currently lacking. Based on a review of resilience theory, we introduce a new concept for research on the ability of polluted soil (xenobiotics or other chemical pollutants as one stressor) to resist further natural or anthropogenic stress and to retain its functions and structure. There is strong indication that pollution as a primary stressor will change the system reaction of soil, i.e., its resilience, stability and resistance. It can be expected that pollution affects the physiological adaption of organisms and the functional redundancy of the soil to further stress. We hypothesize that the recovery of organisms and chemical-physical properties after impact of a follow-up stressor is faster in polluted soil than in non-polluted soil, i.e., polluted soil has a higher dynamical stability (dynamical stability=1/recovery time), whereas resilience of the contaminated soil is lower compared to that of not or less contaminated soil. Thus, a polluted soil might be more prone to change into another system regime after occurrence of further stress. We highlight this issue by compiling the literature exemplarily for the effects of Cu contamination and compaction on soil functions and structure. We propose to intensify research on effects of combined stresses involving a multidisciplinary team of experts and provide suggestions for corresponding experiments. Our concept offers thus a framework for system level analysis of soils paving the way to enhance ecological theory.
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Environmental Research (Biology 5), 52074 Aachen, Germany. Electronic address: andreas.schaeffer@bio5.rwth-aachen.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schaeffer
authors.affiliation: Soil Science and Soil Ecology, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Nussallee 13, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Wulf
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Amelung
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Environmental Research (Biology 5), 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Henner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hollert
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Environmental Biotechnology, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaestner
authors.affiliation: Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil Wolff Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kandeler
authors.affiliation: Soil Science and Soil Ecology, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation (INRES), University of Bonn, Nussallee 13, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kruse
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Environmental Biotechnology, 04318 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miltner
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Environmental Research (Biology 5), 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ottermanns
authors.affiliation: Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil Wolff Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Pagel
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil Science, University of Kassel, Nordbahnhofstr. 1a, 37213 Witzenhausen, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Peth
authors.affiliation: Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil Wolff Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poll
authors.affiliation: Systematic Botany and Mycology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rambold
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, Research Unit for Environmental Genomics, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85758 Oberschleissheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schloter
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München, Research Unit for Environmental Genomics, Ingolstädter Landstr. 1, 85758 Oberschleissheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.affiliation: Soil Science and Land Evaluation, University of Hohenheim, Emil Wolff Str. 27, 70599 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Streck
authors.affiliation: RWTH Aachen University, Institute for Environmental Research (Biology 5), 52074 Aachen, Germany.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roß-Nickoll
keywords: Compaction; Copper; Natural stress; Pollutants; Resilience; Resistance; Stability