Influence of soil organic matter content on the toxicity of pesticides to soil invertebrates: A review

A better understanding of how soil organic matter (OM) content influences pesticide toxicity to soil invertebrates is needed to improve the ecological relevance of risk assessment approaches. In the current study, soil invertebrate toxicity data (LC₅₀ and EC₅₀ values) were collected from studies determining the toxicity of organic chemicals in soils with varying OM content. Relevant studies were identified by performing a literature search and through the use of toxicity databases. The data were used to address the following questions: (1) Can the relationship between toxicity and soil OM content be quantified? (2) Does soil OM content influence different toxicity endpoints in a similar way? (3) Is the influence of soil OM content on sensitivity to pesticides different between species? The results indicate that toxicity—OM relationships are chemical dependent, differ between endpoints, and are species-specific. Hence, the grouping of chemicals based solely on their lipophilicity, as well as having only one correction factor for multiple species, may not be an appropriate approach to risk assessment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:1457–1472.