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Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems

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A special issue of Environments (ISSN 2076-3298).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 19376

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ge Zhang

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Guest Editor

Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
Interests: beekeeping; pollinator conservation; toxicology; insect ecology

Prof. Dr. John D. Stark

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

School of the Environment, Washington State University, Puyallup, WA, USA
Interests: hazard/risk assessment; aquatic organisms; butterfly conservation; demographic toxicology; insect pest control
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Pesticides are widely used in agricultural lands to control various pest species and increase crop yields. However, they may adversely affect non-target species, including wild plants, invertebrates (e.g., insect predators and pollinators) and vertebrates (e.g., amphibians, reptiles, fishes, birds, and mammals) living in and around agricultural lands that are vital for the ecosystem. Assesssing pesticide toxicity to non-target organisms is a standard process for pesticide registration and environmental protection, but quite often, these studies are conducted on a limited number of surrogate species under laboratory conditions because it is challenging to perform such assessments in nature due to exposure and several risk factors. Moreover, pesticides indirectly affect the non-target species as they can move throughout the environment of soil, water, plant tissue and prey organisms.

This Special Issue seeks to publish papers that address the effects of pesticides on non-target species. Topics can range from exposure levels, toxicity, direct versus indirect effects, risk assessment, and mitigation of pesticide effects at mulitple sites and across large geographical areas. Studies that highlight mitigation methods or techniques to reduce exposure (e.g., using appropirate pesticides, dosages, time and application equipment) and increase non-target species’ resistance to pesticides via bioremediation techniques (e.g., biochar to absorb pesticides, microbial biodegradation of pesticides) are also welcome.

Dr. Ge Zhang
Prof. Dr. John D. Stark
Guest Editors

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Keywords

pesticide
herbicide
insecticide
fungicide
rodencide
miticide
exposure assessment
risk assessment
expoure route
mitigation
natural enemy
pollinator
insect
fish
amphibian and reptile
mamal
wildlife
soil and water
plant

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 214 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predicting Acute Oral Toxicity in Bobwhite Quail: Development of QSAR Models for LD₅₀

by Nadia Iovine, Alessandra Roncaglioni and Emilio Benfenati

Environments 2025, 12(2), 56; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12020056 - 8 Feb 2025

Viewed by 681

Abstract

The development of a predictive model for estimating oral acute toxicity (LD₅₀) in wildlife species is essential for environmental risk assessments. In this study, a quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) model was developed to predict the acute oral toxicity of pesticides toward Bobwhite quail, categorizing them into three toxicity classes: low, moderate, and high. This model was built using the SARpy softwareA dataset of pesticides collected from OpenFoodTox and the ECOTOX database was used to identify training and test datasets, while data collected from the PPDB were used as an external validation. The model’s performance was evaluated using these three sets. The accuracy achieved on the training set was 0.75, indicating good performance during model development. However, the model’s accuracy dropped to 0.55 for the test set, suggesting some overfitting. The external validation accuracy was 0.69, reflecting the model’s ability to generalize to new, unseen data. While these results demonstrate the potential of the QSAR models for predicting toxicity in Bobwhite quail, they also highlight the need for further refinement to improve predictive accuracy, particularly for unseen compounds. This work contributes to the development of computational tools for wildlife risk assessment and toxicological predictions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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17 pages, 2610 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecotoxicological Effects of the Herbicide Metribuzin on Tenebrio molitor Hemocytes

by Maria Luigia Vommaro, Michela Guadagnolo, Martina Lento and Anita Giglio

Environments 2025, 12(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12010030 - 19 Jan 2025

Viewed by 1045

Abstract

Herbicides are synthetic chemicals that are extensively employed in agricultural practices with the objective of enhancing crop yield and quality. Despite their selectivity for plant systems and being generally regarded as non-toxic to animals, there is a paucity of understanding surrounding the sublethal effects on non-target organisms, including animals. This gap underscores the necessity for ecotoxicological research that prioritizes the identification of suitable models and develops reliable biomarkers for the early assessment of environmental impact. In this context, hemocytes—circulating immune cells found in invertebrates—have been identified as a crucial system for assessing sublethal toxicological effects, given their role in immune defense and overall organism health. Tenebrio molitor, a beetle pest of stored grain, was used as a model for the assessment of the effects of a metribuzin-based herbicide (MTB, Feinzin DF 70, 70% metribuzin, 0.25 kg ha⁻¹). Following a 96 h exposure to MTB, the males (7–10 days post-eclosion) were examined for multiple biomarkers in their hemocytes, including cell density, phagocytic activity, lysosomal membrane stability, and cytological changes. Although no mortality was observed, exposure to MTB resulted in a reduction in the phagocytic index and an increase in blast-like cells, indicating the potential for immunotoxicity. Lysosomal membrane stability was reduced, though no significant changes in hemocyte density or nuclear morphology were observed. These responses indicate potential immune system impairment, which could affect the beetle’s fitness and reproductive potential. This study highlights the potential of hemocytes for assessing sublethal herbicide effects, raising concerns about the ecological impact of herbicides in agroecosystems and their potential risks to both wildlife and human health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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17 pages, 24651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Morphological Alterations and Oxidative Stress Induction in Danio rerio Liver After Short-Term Exposure to the Strobilurin Fungicide Dimoxystrobin

by Rachele Macirella, Abdalmoiz I. M. Ahmed, Federica Talarico, Naouel Gharbi, Marcello Mezzasalma and Elvira Brunelli

Environments 2024, 11(12), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11120282 - 7 Dec 2024

Viewed by 1283

Abstract

Unlike many other fungicides, strobilurins are applied several times during the growing season for prophylactic purposes, thus heightening the risk of environmental contamination. In the EU, the dimoxystrobin approval period lasted for 17 years. It has been classified as moderately toxic to birds and highly toxic to earthworms, and it is suspected to be carcinogenic to humans. However, it is still commercialized in several countries. The effects of dimoxystrobin are still largely underexplored, with only three studies reporting sublethal alterations in fish. Here, we evaluated for the first time the effects of dimoxystrobin on zebrafish liver after short-term exposure (96 h) to two sublethal and environmentally relevant concentrations (6.56 and 13.13 μg/L), providing evidence of morphological, functional, and ultrastructural modifications. We revealed severe alterations encompassing three reaction patterns: circulatory disturbance, regressive and progressive changes, which also showed a dose-dependent trend. Furthermore, we revealed that dimoxystrobin induced a significant increase in lipid content, a decrease in glycogen granules and affected the defensive response against oxidative stress through a significant downregulation of SOD and CAT. The information presented here demonstrates that the hazardous properties of dimoxystrobin may result from several pathological events involving multiple targets. Our results also emphasize the importance of the combined use of morphological, ultrastructural and functional investigation in ecotoxicological studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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16 pages, 1709 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Non-Destructive Biomarkers in Non-Target Species Earthworm Lumbricus terrestris for Assessment of Different Agrochemicals

by Antonio Calisi, Tiziana Cappello, Mario Angelelli, Maria Maisano, Davide Rotondo, Davide Gualandris, Teodoro Semeraro and Francesco Dondero

Environments 2024, 11(12), 276; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11120276 - 3 Dec 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 986

Abstract

In many agroecosystems, agrochemicals are widely used to control crop pests, but often affect many non-target species of ecological and agronomic interest, such as earthworms. Earthworms are considered useful indicators of soil contamination. Exposure of these organisms to contaminants occurs mainly through the large amount of soil ingested, which passes through the digestive tract, which is closely associated with the coelom and its fluids. In this work, we used the coelomic fluids of earthworms exposed to copper sulfate and chlorpyrifos to standardize a set of non-destructive biomarkers useful for assessing the contamination in agroecosystems. Metallothionein concentrations, acetylcholinesterase inhibition, lysosomal membrane stability, micronucleus frequency, morphometric alterations, and granulocyte cytoskeleton polymerization were analyzed. The results showed that all the biomarkers used were detectable in the coelomic fluid. Furthermore, the data obtained showed highly significant variations for all biomarkers studied, thus demonstrating that the use of coelomic fluid for biomarker assessment in non-target species offers numerous advantages for field applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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12 pages, 630 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Environmental Risk Assessment of Glyphosate and Aminomethylphosphonic Acid (AMPA) in Portuguese Groundwater Ecosystems

by Santos Inês, Lopes Ana and Emília Silva

Environments 2024, 11(11), 258; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11110258 - 19 Nov 2024

Viewed by 971

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the risk related to the exposure of groundwater ecosystems to herbicide glyphosate and its non-relevant metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) based on the quotient between measured concentrations gathered from the Water Resources Information System of Portugal, and groundwater quality standards set in legislation and estimated from environmental quality standards in surface waters. Glyphosate was analyzed in 103 groundwater samples collected from 80 wells located in 21 aquifer systems from the four hydrogeological units of mainland Portugal, between 2019 and 2021. It was detected in 14% of the total samples; however, only 10% presented concentration levels above 0.1 µg/L, the groundwater quality standard, and none of these values exceeded the value of 8.67 μg/L estimated from the annual average environmental quality standard proposed for glyphosate in surface waters. In comparison, AMPA was detected in only 5% of 63 groundwater samples, in four dug wells. In both compounds, the maximum concentration level was quantified in a dug well located in the O25-Torres Vedras aquifer system, from the Western unit, with 4.69 and 4.24 μg/L for glyphosate and AMPA, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate that it is extremely important to raise awareness and offer training to farmers on the sustainable use of plant protection products and good agricultural practices, in order to prevent groundwater contamination and improve its quality. There is also an urgent need to carry out ecotoxicological tests with further groundwater species from different functional groups in order to obtain a quality standard that accurately represents the groundwater communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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19 pages, 1602 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecotoxicity of Pesticides Approved for Use in European Conventional or Organic Agriculture for Honeybees, Birds, and Earthworms

by Lena Goritschnig, Helmut Burtscher-Schaden, Thomas Durstberger and Johann G. Zaller

Environments 2024, 11(7), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11070137 - 28 Jun 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2720

Abstract

Pesticides affect biota inside and outside agricultural fields due to their intrinsic mode of action. This study investigated whether pesticide active substances (AS) approved for conventional agriculture in Europe differ in their ecotoxicity from AS approved for organic agriculture. The evaluation was based on official ecotoxicological data for surrogate honeybee, bird, and earthworm species, which also serve as a reference for official environmental risk assessments in the pesticide authorization process. In October 2022, 268 chemical-synthetic AS approved for conventional and 179 nature-based AS approved for organic agriculture were listed in the EU Pesticide Database. Ecotoxicological data were only available for 254 AS approved for use in conventional agriculture and 110 AS approved for use in organic agriculture. The results showed a higher ecotoxicity of conventional AS: 79% (201 AS), 64% (163 AS) and 91% (230 AS) were moderately to acutely toxic to honeybees, birds, and earthworms, respectively, compared to 44% (48 AS), 14% (15 AS) and 36% (39 AS) of AS approved for organic agriculture. We have only considered the potential ecotoxicities of individual substances in this assessment; actual exposure in the field, where multiple AS formulations with other chemicals (including impurities) are applied, will be different. Nevertheless, these results emphasize that an increase in organic agriculture in Europe would reduce the ecotoxicological burden on biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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27 pages, 2139 KiB

Open AccessReview

Nanobiopesticides: Sustainability Aspects and Safety Concerns

by Giuliana Vinci, Marco Savastano, Donatella Restuccia and Marco Ruggeri

Environments 2025, 12(3), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments12030074 - 1 Mar 2025

Viewed by 480

Abstract

The use of chemical pesticides has significantly improved crop yields and global food security but poses risks to environment and human health. To address this, nanobiopesticides, combining nanomaterials and biopesticide, have emerged as a potential alternative. Therefore, this article evaluates their sustainability and safety through a literature review using Scopus. The results indicate that nanobiopesticides offer advantages over conventional pesticides, including greater precision, controlled release, and reduced dosage requirements. An illustrative Life Cycle Assessment conducted in this study confirmed that they potentially offer more sustainability than commercial pesticides, showing reductions in environmental impacts from −6% to −99%. However, several gaps remain related to the effect of nanoparticles on non-target organisms and biodiversity, bioaccumulation, and environmental persistence in ecosystems, and their ecotoxicological safety. Additionally, regulatory frameworks in major agricultural markets are complex and fragmented, potentially hindering large-scale adoption. Currently, nanobiopesticides are commercially available in countries such as the U.S., India, and Brazil, primarily for pest control in crops like rice, maize, and vegetables. Their market presence is growing, yet widespread implementation will depend on clearer regulations and further research on long-term environmental impacts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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29 pages, 846 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

Understanding Environmental Contamination Through the Lens of the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

by Fabio Castagna, Luigi Montano, Renato Lombardi, Angelo Pagano, Andrea Gigliotti, Roberto Bava, Carmine Lupia, Anna Costagliola, Antonio Giordano, Ernesto Palma, Domenico Britti and Giovanna Liguori

Environments 2024, 11(12), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11120264 - 22 Nov 2024

Viewed by 2530

Abstract

The peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) stands out as a crucial sentinel species for assessing environmental contamination, owing to its widespread distribution, high position in the food chain, and susceptibility to pollutants. As apex predators, these remarkable birds accumulate various contaminants found in their prey, thus serving as valuable indicators of ecological health. The historical application of organochlorine pesticides, such as DDT, resulted in alarming population declines, highlighting the significant vulnerability of peregrines to environmental hazards. Recent research has shed light on the detrimental effects of heavy metal exposure, revealing critical health risks including compromised immune function and reduced reproductive success, which further highlight the ecological consequences of pollution for top predators. Moreover, the complex nature of brominated flame retardants poses challenges in balancing fire safety with environmental health, as these chemicals persist in the ecosystem and threaten peregrine falcon populations. In the future, the use of possible new bioindicators of environmental pollution opens up interesting prospects. This innovative approach may enhance our understanding of how contaminants affect reproductive health and contribute to a broader One Health perspective, emphasizing the interconnectedness of wildlife, human health, and ecosystem integrity. This comprehensive overview underscores the urgency of ongoing monitoring and regulatory efforts to protect peregrine falcons and, by extension, our shared environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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18 pages, 360 KiB

Open AccessReview

Effects of Agricultural Pesticides on Decline in Insect Species and Individual Numbers

by Peter Quandahor, Leesun Kim, Minju Kim, Keunpyo Lee, Francis Kusi and In-hong Jeong

Environments 2024, 11(8), 182; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments11080182 - 21 Aug 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6791

Abstract

As agricultural production increases, the use of chemical fertilisers, herbicides, and other synthetic pesticides has equally increased over the years. Inadequate pesticide application description and monitoring has generated a heated debate among governmental organisations, agricultural industries, and conservation organisations about pesticide effects on insect species richness and abundance. This review is therefore aimed at summarizing the decline in insects’ species and individual numbers as a result of extensive pesticide utilisation and recommends possible management strategies for its mitigation. This review revealed an average pesticide application of 1.58 kg per ha per year, 0.37 kg per person per year, and 0.79 kg per USD 1000 per year. Insects have experienced a greater species abundance decline than birds, plants, and other organisms, which could pose a significant challenge to global ecosystem management. Although other factors such as urbanisation, deforestation, monoculture, and industrialisation may have contributed to the decline in insect species, the extensive application of agro-chemicals appears to cause the most serious threat. Therefore, the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly management strategies is critical for mitigating insect species’ decline. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pesticide Contamination to Non-target Organisms, the Environment, and Agroecosystems)

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