Implications of silvicultural pesticides on forest soil animals, insects, fungi, and other organisms and ramifications on soil fertility and health

Abstract

Sufficient information is available to show that pesticides can be properly applied and used safely in forest management. However, much of the information on the effects of pesticides on soil organisms is often based on methodologies involving soil processes (i.e., toxicology studies) rather than on individual groups of organisms. Because more than one group of soil organisms may carry out the same function, the effects of pesticides on a particular group can be missed. On the other hand, while laboratory test may show pesticide effects on one group under an array of controlled conditions, the same organism may respond differently in a field setting. Not much information is available on soil organisms resulting from combining various silvicultural herbicides or pesticides. Information is presented to show that with few exceptions, pesticides can affect soil organism populations, but the effects may be short-term with little noticeable long-term affect on soil health and quality.

Acknowledgments