Determining cadmium critical concentrations in natural soils by assessing Collembola mortality, reproduction and growth

Thomas Bur (1) , Anne Probst (1) , Audrey Bianco (1) , Laure Gandois (1) , Yves Crouau (1)

1 LEFE - Laboratoire Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement

The toxicity of cadmium for the Collembola Folsomia candida was studied by determining the effects of increasing Cd concentrations on growth, survival and reproduction in three cultivated and forested soils with different pH (4.5-8.2) and organic matter content (1.6-16.5%). The Cd concentration in soil CaCl2 exchangeable fraction, in soil solution and in Collembola body was determined. At similar total soil concentrations, the Cd concentration in soil solutions strongly decreased with increasing pH. Reproduction was the most sensitive parameter. Low organic matter content was a limiting factor for reproduction. Effect of Cd on reproduction was better described by soil or body concentrations than by soil solution concentration. Values of EC50-Repro expressed on the basis of nominal soil concentration were 182, 111 and 107 μg g−1, respectively, for a carbonated cultivated soil (AU), an acid forested soil with high organic matter (EPC) and a circumneutral cultivated soil with low organic content (SV). Sensitivity to Cd was enhanced for low OM content and acidic pH. The effect of Cd on reproduction is not directly related to Cd concentration in soil solution for carbonated soil: a very low value is found for EC50-Repro (0.17) based on soil solution for the soil with the highest pH (AU; pH=8.2). Chronic toxicity cannot be predicted on the basis of soluble fractions. Critical concentrations were 8×10−5, 1.1, 0.3 μg mL−1, respectively, for AU, EPC and SV soils.

Mots clés: Ecotoxicity; Soil; Collembola; Cadmium; Growth; Bioaccumulation; Critical load; pH; Reproduction; Mortality

Domaines: Ecotoxicologie

Thomas Bur, Anne Probst, Audrey Bianco, Laure Gandois, Yves Crouau. Determining cadmium critical concentrations in natural soils by assessing Collembola mortality, reproduction and growth. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2010, Vol. 7, pp. 415-422. ⟨10.1016/j.ecoenv.2009.10.010⟩. ⟨hal-00905962⟩