Summary
This study assessed silver toxicity thresholds across multiple soil microbial functional biomarkers in different soil types, revealing that toxicity responses are highly soil-dependent and vary by microbial function. Carbon cycle-associated enzyme activities showed similar responses to silver, whilst sulphur and nitrogen cycle-linked enzymes (particularly sulfatase) were most sensitive. The findings suggest that representative biomarkers can be identified for soil silver contamination risk assessment, though soil characteristics such as organic carbon content limit the predictive power of these responses across diverse soil conditions.
UK applicability
These findings are relevant to UK soil contamination assessment and regulation, particularly for agricultural soils potentially exposed to silver from industrial inputs or sewage sludge applications. The soil-dependent nature of silver toxicity thresholds suggests that UK-specific soil types and conditions would require localised risk characterisation rather than universal threshold values.
Key measures
Soil microbial enzyme activities (cellobiohydrolase, xylosidase, α/β-glucosidase, sulfatase, leucine-aminopeptidase); soil characteristics (total organic carbon, pH); soil-specific toxicity responses to silver
Outcomes reported
The study measured soil microbial enzyme activities and community responses across multiple soil types exposed to silver (Ag) contamination, identifying soil-specific toxicity thresholds and sensitive biomarkers for risk assessment.
Topic tags
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