Abstract
The side effects of glyphosate on the soil microflora were monitored by applying a range of glyphosate concentrations (0, 2, 20, and 200 μg g−1 herbicide) to incubated soil samples, and following changes in various microbial groups over 27 days. Bacterial propagule numbers were temporarily enhanced by 20 μg g−1 and 200 μg g−1 glyphosate, while actinomycete and fungal propagule numbers were unaffected by glyphosate. The frequency of three fungal species on organic particles in soil was temporarily enhanced by 200 μg g−1 glyphosate, while one was inhibited. One species was temporily enhanced on mineral particles. However, many of these fungi were inhibited by 200 μg g−1 glyphosate in pure culture. There was little agreement between species responses to glyphosate in incubated soil samples and in pure culture.
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Wardle, D.A., Parkinson, D. Influence of the herbicide glyphosate on soil microbial community structure. Plant Soil 122, 29–37 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02851907
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02851907