Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
Department of Chemistry & CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
Environ Pollut. 2023 Nov 1;336:122469. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122469. Epub 2023 Aug 28.
Nanoagrochemicals have the potential to revolutionize agriculture towards a precision farming system, able to reduce application rates and consequently their environmental footprint, while keeping efficacy. Several nanoagrochemicals (including nanopesticides (Npes) and nanofertilizers (Nfer)) are already commercialized but the environmental risk assessment of these advanced materials is often lacking. In the present study, we studied the commercial fertilizer WELGRO® Cu + Zn and assessed its ecotoxicity to the soil invertebrate species Enchytraeus crypticus (Oligochaeta), further comparing it to its individual active substances CuO and ZnO. To get a comprehensive picture of possible effects, we used four types of highly relevant tests in LUFA 2.2 soil: 1) avoidance behaviour (2 days), 2) reproduction (OECD standard, 28 d), 3) its extension (56 d), and 4) the full life cycle (FLC) (46 d) - this high level of hazard screening allows for increased interpretation. The results confirmed the nano-features of WELGRO® and a higher toxicity than the mixture of the individual components CuO + ZnO. E. crypticus avoided the soil spiked with WELGRO® and CuO + ZnO, this being the most sensitive endpoint - avoidance behaviour. Both WELGRO® and the active substances were little to non-toxic based on the OECD standard test. However, the toxicity dramatically increased in the tests focussing on longer-term sustainability measures, i.e., 56 days, ca. 170 for WELGRO®. This seems related to the nano-features of WELGRO®, e.g., slow release of ions from the nanoparticles throughout time. The FLCt results showed WELGRO® affected hatching and juveniles' survival, being these the most sensitive life stages. Hence, under actual real world field usage scenarios, i.e., based on the recommended application rates, nanoenabled WELGRO® can affect oligochaete populations like enchytraeids, both via the immediate avoidance behaviour and also via prolonged exposure periods.
纳米农用化学品有可能使农业朝着精准农业系统发展，能够降低施用量，从而减少其对环境的影响，同时保持其功效。一些纳米农用化学品（包括纳米农药（Npes）和纳米肥料（Nfer））已经商业化，但这些先进材料的环境风险评估往往缺乏。在本研究中，我们研究了商业肥料 WELGRO®Cu+Zn，并评估了其对土壤无脊椎动物物种（Oligochaeta）Enchytraeus crypticus 的生态毒性，进一步将其与单一活性物质 CuO 和 ZnO 进行了比较。为了全面了解可能的影响，我们使用了 LUFA 2.2 土壤中的四种高度相关的测试类型：1）回避行为（2 天），2）繁殖（OECD 标准，28 天），3）其扩展（56 天），和 4）完整生命周期（FLC）（46 天）-这种高水平的危害筛选允许进行更多的解释。结果证实了 WELGRO®的纳米特性及其比 CuO+ZnO 混合物更高的毒性。E. crypticus 回避了添加 WELGRO®和 CuO+ZnO 的土壤，这是最敏感的终点-回避行为。根据 OECD 标准测试，WELGRO®和活性物质都几乎无毒。然而，在关注长期可持续性措施的测试中，毒性急剧增加，即 56 天，约为 170，对于 WELGRO®。这似乎与 WELGRO®的纳米特性有关，例如，纳米颗粒中的离子随着时间的推移缓慢释放。FLCt 结果表明，WELGRO®影响孵化和幼体的存活，这是最敏感的生命阶段。因此，在实际的田间使用场景下，即根据推荐的施用量，纳米增强型 WELGRO®可能会影响寡毛类种群，如蚓螈，既通过直接回避行为，也通过延长暴露期。
