{"id":40956,"date":"2026-02-13T00:01:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T05:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=40956"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T19:21:33","slug":"study-identifies-pesticide-residues-in-soil-as-a-main-driver-of-adverse-effects-to-soil-biodiversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2026\/02\/study-identifies-pesticide-residues-in-soil-as-a-main-driver-of-adverse-effects-to-soil-biodiversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Study Identifies Pesticide Residues in Soil as a Main Driver of Adverse Effects to Soil Biodiversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, February 13, 2026) In a novel, continent-wide study of soil biodiversity throughout Europe published in Nature<\/em><\/a>, researchers find 70% of the sampled sites contain pesticide residues<\/a>, which \u201cemerged as the second strongest driver of soil biodiversity<\/a> patterns after soil properties,\u201d particularly in croplands. As soil biodiversity is key for ecosystem functioning<\/a>, agricultural and land management practices that safeguard biodiversity are imperative. This study, however, highlights how pesticides alter microbial functions, including phosphorus and nitrogen cycling, and suppress beneficial taxa, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and bacterivore nematodes, and adds to a wide body of science<\/a> that links pesticide residues in soil to adverse effects on biodiversity.<\/p>\n

In analyzing 373 sites across woodlands, grasslands, and croplands in 26 European countries, and examining the effects of 63 pesticides on soil archaea, bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes, arthropods, and key functional gene groups, the data reveals \u201corganism- and function-specific patterns, emphasizing complex and widespread non-target effects on soil biodiversity<\/a>.\u201d As the authors state, \u201c[T]o our knowledge, ours is the first study to demonstrate the relative importance of pesticides in comparison to soil properties, ecosystem type and climate at a continental scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Study Importance<\/strong><\/p>\n

As Kristin Ohlson describes in her book The Soil Will Save Us<\/em><\/a>, soil holds much more than meets the eye: \u201c[W]hen we stand on the surface of the earth, we’re atop a vast underground kingdom of microorganisms without life as we know it wouldn’t exist. Trillions of microorganisms, even in my own smallish backyard, like a great dark sea swarming with tiny creatures\u2014it almost makes me feel a little seasick standing there, knowing how much business is being conducted right under my feet.” These organisms living belowground play a vital role in ecosystem functions and services, including food production, carbon storage, erosion control, and water regulation.<\/p>\n

As the current study states: \u201cIn addition to hosting nearly 59% of the Earth\u2019s biodiversity<\/a>, soils also act as sinks for contaminants, such as pesticides applied aboveground. These pesticides can persist in soils for extended periods, depending on their chemical properties and soil adsorption and absorption capacities.\u201d While a multitude of previous studies (see examples below) find negative effects on soil organisms from pesticide exposure, \u201cthese studies have been spatially limited by focusing on specific countries and agroeco-systems, selected soil biota, and by including a very limited number of pesticide compounds,\u201d the researchers say. \u201cTherefore, the effects of multiple pesticides on complex soil communities at large geographical scales and across different ecosystem types have not been addressed<\/a>, but are crucially needed to better assess biodiversity under pesticide pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Current risk assessments do not comprehensively access the effects of pesticides on soil microbiota, as they primarily focus the exposure of individual active ingredients to representative species, such as earthworms (Eisenia fetida<\/em>), nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans<\/em>) and collembolans (Folsomia candida<\/em>), \u201cwith specific endpoints such as mineralization and nitrogen transformation (for microbes, nitrate formation), and do not consider a wide range of field conditions and the effects of long-term exposure.\u201d (See study here<\/a>.) This limits the ability to assess broader ecological impacts of pesticide use on soil life, especially in mixtures with potential synergistic effects<\/a>, on the wide range of soil organisms that can have species-specific<\/a> effects.<\/p>\n

Methodology and Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The authors, while assessing 373 total sites across woodlands, grasslands, and croplands, focus primarily on cropland soils where pesticides are directly applied to understand the influence of pesticide active ingredients and their metabolites on soil biodiversity. “We hypothesized that pesticides influence soil biodiversity, more so in these intensively managed ecosystems,\u201d they note. \u201cTo test this, we assessed the relationships between each pesticide concentration and:<\/p>\n

(1) the richness and diversity (Shannon index) of each taxonomic group;<\/p>\n

(2) their combined diversity (multidiversity);<\/p>\n

(3) the relative abundance of functional groups; and<\/p>\n

(4) the diversity of the functional gene groups.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

This takes into account other environmental drivers, including soil properties, climate, and ecosystem type, which then allows for the quantification of the relative importance of pesticide concentrations in shaping soil biodiversity in comparison.<\/p>\n

All samples were collected during a single vegetation growing season from April to October in 2018, which occurred at “210 annual croplands (for example, maize and wheat), 34 permanent croplands (for example, vineyards, orchards and olive groves), 19 recently converted grasslands (that is, former croplands not cultivated for at least one year and not subjected to crop rotation, abandoned croplands and temporary grasslands), 97 extensive grasslands and 13 woodlands (including 6 coniferous and 7 broadleaved forests).\u201d The study included sites other than those located in croplands to show how contamination can extend into surrounding ecosystems.<\/p>\n

The results reveal:<\/p>\n