Effect of pesticides on soil microbiome, FHNW School of Life Sciences

Soils are hotspots for biodiversity and support essential agriculture ecosystem functions such as nutrient cycling. At the same time, soils are exposed to a wide range of natural and anthropogenic stressors that affect this biodiversity.

Among all stressors, pesticides receive considerable attention. After application in agricultural production, a considerable amount of pesticides enter the soil, where they interact with the microorganisms present and can potentially lead to adverse effects. However, to date, there is no universally applicable system to assess the impact of pesticides in soil agroecosystems. The high variability and complexity of soils makes it difficult to establish reference values and ranges of effects for the different natural microbiomes.

In a collaborative project with Agroscope , our research group is investigating the impact of pesticides on soil microbiome structure and function. The aim is to design an index using soil microorganisms as degradation indicators for soil agricultural ecosystem functions. Finally, based on microbiomes as biomarkers, the index should be applicable in the long-term assessment of pesticide impact on soils in agroecosystems and contribute to sustainable management.