Ying Ding;Li Zhu;Xin Ke;Longhua Wu;Shengpeng Zu

College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Water and Soil Pollution Control and Remediation, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241003 (China;Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institute for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032 (China);Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China);College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Anhui Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Water and Soil Pollution Control and Remediation, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu 241003 (China); Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008 (China)

soil pb;mm;pollution;001;larger;individual

Toxic effect of lead (Pb) pollution on Collembola in soils has seldom been studied in depth, which is especially true for growth responses since the juveniles are very small and numerous. A single species test was conducted using the collembolan Folsomia candida as the indicator species, and soil Pb pollution (at Pb concentrations of 0, 300, 600, 1 200, 2 400, and 4 800 mg kg–1) was simulated by mixing Pb(NO3)2 with a natural unpolluted soil. Adult survival, reproduction, body length, and body Pb concentration were determined. Adult survival and reproduction started to decrease at soil Pb concentrations of 1 200 and 600 mg kg–1, respectively. Lead concentrations in adult and juvenile bodies increased with increasing Pb concentration in soil. The percentage and individual abundances based on body length analysis showed that the larger adults (2.1–2.6 mm, P < 0.01) were more sensitive to soil Pb concentration than the intermediate (1.9–2.1 mm, P < 0.001) and smaller (1.7–1.9 mm, P < 0.001) adults. Similarly, the larger juveniles (1.0–1.4 mm, P < 0.001) were more sensitive to soil Pb concentration than the intermediate (0.6–1.0 mm, P < 0.001) and smaller (0.3–0.6 mm, P < 0.001) juveniles. For both adults or juveniles, the abundance and percentage of larger individuals declined significantly with increasing soil Pb concentration, suggesting that larger individuals were more sensitive to soil Pb pollution. Therefore, body length features, especially the percentage and abundance of larger individuals, would be potential bio-indicators of soil Pb pollution and possibly other types of soil pollution.