Abstract
Three post-emergence herbicides (2,4-D, picloram and glyphosate) were applied to samples of an Alberta agricultural soil at concentrations of 0, 2, 20, and 200 μg g−1. The effects of these chemicals on certain microbial variables was monitored over 27 days. All herbicides caused enhancement of basal respiration but only for 9 days following application, and only for concentrations of 200 μg g−1. Substrate-induced respiration was temporarily depressed by 200 μg g−1 picloram and 2,4-D, and briefly enhanced by 200 μg g−1 glyphosate. It is concluded that because changes in microbial variables only occurred at herbicide concentrations of much higher than that which occurs following field application, the side-effects of these chemicals is probably of little ecological significance.
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Wardle, D.A., Parkinson, D. Effects of three herbicides on soil microbial biomass and activity. Plant Soil 122, 21–28 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02851906
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02851906