Title: Non-target effects of herbicides on soil nematode assemblages
Abstract: Herbicides are used extensively to control weeds. However, little is known about the non-target effects of herbicides on soil nematode assemblages. The objective of this study was to determine whether herbicides affect the abundance of nematodes in specific trophic groups. Meta-analysis was performed and the calculated effect size, lr, quantified the impact of herbicides on the abundance of total nematodes and five trophic groups (bacterivores, fungivores, plant-parasites, omnivores, and predators). Measurements of lr indicated that herbicides decreased abundance of both fungivores and predators; however, abundance of bacterivores, plant-parasites and omnivores increased. Overall, total nematode abundance tended to increase in response to herbicide application. The decrease of predator abundance suggests that herbicide application disturbs soil food webs. The increase of bacterivore and decrease of fungivore abundance suggest that bacterivores are more tolerant and both fungivores and predators more sensitive to herbicide applications. Herbicides also have non-target effects on omnivores, which may be due to the increased amount of food resources for omnivores after weed control. Additionally, the use of herbicides may result in a risk of an increase of plant-parasitic nematode abundance. [Jie Zhao, Deborah A. Neher, Shenglei Fu, Zhi'an Li & Kelin Wang (2013). Non-target effects of herbicides on soil nematode assemblages. Pest Management Science, online 05 Feb 2013] ${imageDescription} Comment