EESS talk on "Can microbial ecotoxicology contribute to improve environmental risk assessment of pesticides to better preserve soil ecosystemic services?"
Event details
| Date | 10.10.2017 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker |
Dr Fabrice Martin-Laurent, Biologie et fonctions écosystémiques des sols, UMR AgroEcologie, INRA Dijon, France Short biography: Dr. F Martin-Laurent is director of research at INRA Dijon. He is adjunct director of the laboratory of AgroEcology and head of department BIOmE (Biology and ecosystemic functions of soil). He is leading a group of research aiming at characterizing the ecotoxicological impact of pesticides on soil microorganisms and supported ecosystemic functions. |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract:
Soil microbial ecotoxicology is an emerging science facing environmental threats resulting from intense anthropogenic activities (Ghiglione et al., 2016). It aims to assess the impact of abiotic and biotic stressors on the abundance, diversity and activity of soil microbial communities. These parameters can under certain circumstances be used as proxies to assess the resilience and possible recoveries of a range of ecosystemic functions. The incredible advances of microbial ecotoxicology, resulting from the rapid and massive implementation of omics, allow to estimate pesticide toxicity to soil microorganisms but are not taken on board by the current regulation (Martin-Laurent et al., 2013).
Indeed, the EU directive 91/414 which regulates the registration of active ingredient entering in the composition of pesticide, only recommends to estimate the ecotoxicological impact of pesticide on soil microorganisms by using two outdated global tests (carbon- and nitrogen-mineralization tests; OECD 217 and 216, respectively). Recently, EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) published three scientific opinions to improve environmental risk assessment (ERA) of pesticides by
(i) defining as specific protection goal soil ecosystemic services and suggesting microbial functions as attributes to be protected (EFSA, 2010),
(ii) suggesting to consider the temporal and spatial ecological recovery of non-target organisms exposed to pesticides (EFSA, 2016), and
(iii) publishing an exhaustive inventory of methods to assess the risk of pesticides for in-soil organisms (EFSA, 2017).
Within this context, my talk will first remind how currently pesticide toxicity towards soil microorganisms is assessed during the process of pesticide registration. Secondly, my talk will provide details on ongoing initiatives at EFSA to improve the assessment of the risk of pesticides to soil microorganisms to better preserve soil ecosystemic services. Thirdly, I will provide some examples illustrating how microbial ecotoxicology can contribute to estimate pesticide toxicity towards soil microorganisms and supported soil ecosystemic services.
Cited references:
Ghiglione et al. (2016) Microbial ecotoxicology: an emerging discipline facing contemporary environmental threats. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 23: 3981-3983
Martin-Laurent et al. (2013) ECOFUN-MICROBIODIV: an FP7 European project for developing and evaluating innovative tools for assessing the impact of pesticides on soil functional microbial diversity – towards new pesticide registration regulation? Environ Sci Pollut Res.20:1203-1205
EFSA, 2010. Scientific opinion on the development of specific protection goal options for environmental risk assessment of pesticides, in particular in relation to the revision of the guidance documents on aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicology (SANCO/3268/2001 and SANCO/10329/2002), EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR). EFSA Journal 2010; 8 (10): 1821.
EFSA, 2016. Recovery in environmental risk assessments at EFSA, EFSA Scientific Committee.
EFSA Journal 2016; 14 (2): 4313.
EFSA, 2017. Scientific Opinion addressing the state of the science on risk assessment 2 of plant protection products for in-soil organisms. EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR). EFSA Journal 2017; 15 (2): 4690.
Soil microbial ecotoxicology is an emerging science facing environmental threats resulting from intense anthropogenic activities (Ghiglione et al., 2016). It aims to assess the impact of abiotic and biotic stressors on the abundance, diversity and activity of soil microbial communities. These parameters can under certain circumstances be used as proxies to assess the resilience and possible recoveries of a range of ecosystemic functions. The incredible advances of microbial ecotoxicology, resulting from the rapid and massive implementation of omics, allow to estimate pesticide toxicity to soil microorganisms but are not taken on board by the current regulation (Martin-Laurent et al., 2013).
Indeed, the EU directive 91/414 which regulates the registration of active ingredient entering in the composition of pesticide, only recommends to estimate the ecotoxicological impact of pesticide on soil microorganisms by using two outdated global tests (carbon- and nitrogen-mineralization tests; OECD 217 and 216, respectively). Recently, EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) published three scientific opinions to improve environmental risk assessment (ERA) of pesticides by
(i) defining as specific protection goal soil ecosystemic services and suggesting microbial functions as attributes to be protected (EFSA, 2010),
(ii) suggesting to consider the temporal and spatial ecological recovery of non-target organisms exposed to pesticides (EFSA, 2016), and
(iii) publishing an exhaustive inventory of methods to assess the risk of pesticides for in-soil organisms (EFSA, 2017).
Within this context, my talk will first remind how currently pesticide toxicity towards soil microorganisms is assessed during the process of pesticide registration. Secondly, my talk will provide details on ongoing initiatives at EFSA to improve the assessment of the risk of pesticides to soil microorganisms to better preserve soil ecosystemic services. Thirdly, I will provide some examples illustrating how microbial ecotoxicology can contribute to estimate pesticide toxicity towards soil microorganisms and supported soil ecosystemic services.
Cited references:
Ghiglione et al. (2016) Microbial ecotoxicology: an emerging discipline facing contemporary environmental threats. Environ Sci Pollut Res. 23: 3981-3983
Martin-Laurent et al. (2013) ECOFUN-MICROBIODIV: an FP7 European project for developing and evaluating innovative tools for assessing the impact of pesticides on soil functional microbial diversity – towards new pesticide registration regulation? Environ Sci Pollut Res.20:1203-1205
EFSA, 2010. Scientific opinion on the development of specific protection goal options for environmental risk assessment of pesticides, in particular in relation to the revision of the guidance documents on aquatic and terrestrial ecotoxicology (SANCO/3268/2001 and SANCO/10329/2002), EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR). EFSA Journal 2010; 8 (10): 1821.
EFSA, 2016. Recovery in environmental risk assessments at EFSA, EFSA Scientific Committee.
EFSA Journal 2016; 14 (2): 4313.
EFSA, 2017. Scientific Opinion addressing the state of the science on risk assessment 2 of plant protection products for in-soil organisms. EFSA Panel on Plant Protection Products and their Residues (PPR). EFSA Journal 2017; 15 (2): 4690.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal
Organizer
- EESS - IIE
Contact
- Dr Benoît D. Ferrari, Centre ECOTOX EPFL-EAWAG