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Pesticide Effects on Soil Algae and Cyanobacteria

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Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Part of the book series: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology ((RECT,volume 127))

Abstract

Despite increasing research efforts toward crop improvement by methods obviating the use of pesticides (Day 1987), agriculture remains heavily dependent on these chemicals (Gadkari 1988; Greaves et al. 1988). The importance of monitoring the effect of pesticides on nontarget organisms has been emphasized (Hill and Wright 1978). Among those nontarget organisms potentially susceptible to pesticides are the soil algae and cyanobacteria; these are known to contribute to the maintenance of soil fertility and are consequently considered to be an important component of soil microflora (McCann and Cullimore 1979). It is therefore imperative that regular monitoring be undertaken to evaluate the influence of pesticides on these organisms. A review of published work on this subject appeared in 1979 (McCann and Cullimore). Although other more recent reviews on related topics have been published (Lal and Saxena 1980; MacRae 1989; Padhy 1985; Sharma 1986; Stratton 1987), studies on the precise topic of pesticide effects on soil algae and cyanobacteria have not been reviewed since 1979. The present article aims to do this. The uptake, accumulation, and metabolism of pesticides by soil algae and cyanobacteria are not addressed in this review.

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  1. Department of Environmental Sciences, Lakeland College, Vermilion, Alberta, Canada, T0B 4M0

    Annette E. Pipe

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  1. College of Agriculture, University of Arizona, 85721, Tucson, Arizona, USA

    George W. Ware

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© 1992 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.

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Pipe, A.E. (1992). Pesticide Effects on Soil Algae and Cyanobacteria. In: Ware, G.W. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 127. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9751-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9751-9_4

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