Ref ID : 831
C.A.M. van Gestel and W.A. van Dis; The influence of soil characteristics on the toxicity of four chemicals to the earthworm Eisenia fetida andrei (Oligochaeta). Biol.Fertil.Soils 6:262-265, 1988
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The acute toxicity of Cd(chloride), chloroacetamide, 3,4-dichloroaniline and pentachlorophenol to the earthworm Eisenia fetida andrei was determined using the OECD (1984) artificial soil and contact testing procedures. To investigate the influence of two soil characteristics (pH and organic-matter content), the toxicity of the chemicals was also determined in two natural sandy soils. It is concluded that the filter-paper contact test cannot be recommended to predict earthworm toxicity of these chemicals in soil. Toxicity in soil was influenced by both pH and organic-matter content. Differences between LC50 values in the high-organic-matter artifical soil and in an acid, low-organic-matter sandy soil were, however, not greater than a factor of 3-4. The results of this study therefore support the use of a well-defined artifical soil substrate for standardized earthworm toxicity tests.