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Abstract
Water availability is paramount in the response of soil invertebrates towards stress situations. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of forecasted soil moisture scenarios on the avoidance behavior of two invertebrate species (the arthropod Folsomia candida and the soft-bodied oligochaete Enchytraeus crypticus) in soils degraded by different types of anthropogenic metal(loid) contamination (mining soil and agricultural soil affected by industrial chemical wastes). Different soil moisture contents (expressed as % of the soil water holding capacity, WHC) were evaluated: 50% (standard soil moisture conditions for soil invertebrates' tests); 75% (to simulate increasing soil water availability after intense rainfalls and/or floods); 40%, 30%, 25% and 20% (to simulate decreasing soil water availability during droughts). Invertebrates’ avoidance behavior and changes in soil porewater major ions and metal(loid)s were assessed after 48 h exposure. Soil incubations induced a general solubilization/mobilization of porewater major ions, while higher soil acidity favored the solubilization/mobilization of porewater metal(loid)s, especially at 75% WHC. Folsomia candida preferred soils moistened at 50% WHC, regardless the soils were contaminated or not and the changing soil porewater characteristics. Enchytraeus crypticus avoided metal(loid) contamination, but this depended on the soil moisture conditions and the corresponding changes in porewater characteristics: enchytraeids lost their capacity to avoid contaminated soils under water stress situations (75% and 20–25% WHC), but also when contaminated soils had greater water availability than control soils. Therefore, forecasted soil moisture scenarios induced by global warming changed soil porewater composition and invertebrates capacity to avoid metal(loid)-contaminated soils.
Highlights
Global warming is changing Earth’s hydrological cycle
Both test soils had loamy sand texture (~77-86% sand, ~8-16% silt and ~6-7% clay) and acidic pH
The content of total organic carbon (TOC) was higher in the mining soil (~46 mg kg-1 mining soil vs. ~26 mg kg-1 agricultural soil), while both soils showed similar total nitrogen (TN) levels (~2 mg kg-1)
Summary
Global warming is changing Earth’s hydrological cycle. Among others, we are facing important alterations in precipitation patterns (e.g., increasing frequency and intensity of extreme events), higher evapotranspiration rates and changes in soil runoff and moisture (Bates et al, 2008; Sheffield et al, 2012; IPCC, 2013, 2014; Forzieri et al, 2014). Water availability is a key factor in terrestrial ecosystems; their response against water stress often involves complex interactions of biotic and abiotic processes This situation might be compromised in degraded ecosystems, such as those affected by anthropogenic metal(loid) contamination, where soil living organisms have to deal with already unfavorable conditions (i.e., multi-stressed environments). In such degraded areas soil moisture alterations might modify the response of organisms, directly influencing their performance and/or indirectly modifying key soil parameters (e.g., metal(loid) availability and salinity; Peijnenburg and Jager, 2003; Holsmtrup et al., 2010; Karmakar et al, 2016). Among the organisms that may be more affected are soil invertebrates since they live in close contact with pore water, being highly dependent on the surrounding available water and the substances dissolved (e.g. metal(loid)s and salts)
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