| Every pesticide and every
herbicide ever tested has non-target organism effects. It is rare that
scientists make such blanket statements, but in this case, it is true.
Most pesticides are not as detrimental as methyl bromide, for example,
but while each application may impact only a few species, the cumulative
effect of multiple and repeated pesticide applications has been a loss
of the soil's ability to maintain life. The Bulletin of Environmental
Toxicity, as well as Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Applied Soil
Ecology, and Biology and Fertility of Soil, have numerous papers
documenting many of these direct and indirect pesticide impacts. See the
papers by E.R. Ingham documenting impacts of many pesticides.
Fertilizers kill soil organisms too, but typically it is the result
of osmotic shock (salt effect) when more than just a few pounds per acre
are applied at a time. Fertilizer additions work best when there is a
healthy foodweb in the soil helping to move those nutrients to the
plant, and less damage occurs when small quantities of fertilizer are
added at any one time. Thus, care is required to protect the helpful
organisms in the soil. |