The ecosystem provides a diverse array of environmental conditions for organisms, and only those that are capable of successfully adapting to these conditions within their habitats can endure, thrive, and proliferate. Further, the environmental conditions within these habitats can significantly affect the bioavailability of chemicals that are introduced therein, thus resulting in varied adverse impacts on the organisms. The present study aims to evaluate the sensitivity of Yuukianura szeptyckii - a species adapted to riparian - to heavy metals following ISO guideline 11276, with the objective of assessing its potential as an indicator species for ecotoxicological evaluations in riparian habitats. The findings revealed that cadmium and copper both had significant toxic effects depending on their concentrations. For cadmium, the LC50 was 280 mg kg-1, EC50 was 66 mg kg-1, and NOEC and LOEC were 25 and 50 mg kg-1, respectively. For copper, the LC50 was 911 mg kg-1, EC50 was 151 mg kg-1, and LOEC was 50 mg kg-1. Comparative analysis with previous results for the international standard species Folsomia candida and the domestic standard species Allonychiurus kimi indicated that Y. szeptyckii exhibited even greater sensitivity to toxicity values. The adverse effects on survival and reproduction were closely associated with the influx concentration of heavy metals in their bodies. Altogether, the results suggest that Y. szeptyckii is a sensitive species for ecotoxicological assessments in riparian habitats, thus making it suitable as an indicator species, particularly in riparian ecosystems that are characterized by relatively high humidity conditions.

Glyphosate, a worldwide most used herbicides, can have complex implications for terrestrial ecosystems, extending beyond its intended target, weed control. This study investigated the cascading effects of glyphosate application on both plant and collembolan communities. Our findings reveal that glyphosate application can reduce the richness of plant communities, and these effects can be pronounced in areas with low initial plant diversity. Furthermore, our results confirm that the fluctuations in plant community composition induced by glyphosate application can also impact the richness of collembolan communities. This research highlights the importance of considering both plant and invertebrate communities when assessing the impacts of herbicide use in agroecosystems.

In recent, the ISO has suggested a new guideline by using an avoidance behavior of soil invertebrates for the use of screening tools in the evaluation of soil contamination. In this study, we used a collembolan, Paronychiurus kimi which is native to Korea, as a test species because of its ecological relevance to Korean soil. The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether the exposure time (24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h) and cadmium concentration (50, 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg of dry soil) affect the avoidance behavior of P. kimi. Twenty collembolans were introduced to the center of the soil which divided into two sections; cadmium untreated soil was placed in one of the section, and the cadmium treated soil was placed in the opposite section. To minimize soil structural effect on the avoidance behavior, the both soils were compacted by applying unidirectional force to the soil surface. The avoidance behaviors of P. kimi were not significantly affected by cadmium concentrations after 24 and 48 h of exposure, but were significant after 72-120 h. There results showed that avoidance behavior appears to be a good endpoint for the use in evaluation of soil contamination with 72 h of exposure duration.

In soil ecosystems, chemicals are often found as mixtures. Therefore, the toxicity data generated by single toxicity tests are inadequate for assessing the potential risk of complex mixtures of chemicals for soil ecosystems. In the present study, the mixture toxicity of copper and manganese on the reproduction of Paronychiurus kimi were assessed using a Toxic Unit approach (1TU=EC50). The concentrations of each metal in the mixture were summed as follows: TUmixture = CCu/EC50 of Cu + CMn/EC50 of Mn, where CMetal are the concentrations of copper and manganese in the mixture. From the Sum TU based dose-response relationships, sum of a toxicunit (TU50) at 50% reduction for the mixture (EC50mix) was calculated. The binary mixture toxicity was defined as being concentration additiv (EC50mix=1TU) or as being more or less than additive (EC50mix<1TU or 1>TU, respectively). Also, values of the mixture (TUi) at i% reduction found were predicted to get more insight regarding the relationship between mixture toxicity and various effect levels (ranging from EC10 to EC90). The toxicities of copper and manganese mixtures were less than additive at the EC10 level, whereas more than additive at the EC90 level. These findings imply that the effect levels are important for determining the toxicity of metal mixtures.

본 실험은 나이가 다른 잣나무조림지에서의 토중 톡톡이 군집의 특성을 조사하기 위하여 수행하였다. 조림후 1~2년된 지역에서 11~12년된 지역을 1986년 7월부터 1987년 6월까지 조사한 결과는 다음과 같다. 전체적인 톡톡이군집?조는 각종에 따라 심한 집중분포현상을 나타내고 있고, 동일종도 지역에 따라 다른 분포양식을 나타낸다. 조림연도별 군집구조는 조림연도가 오랠수록 종다양도가 높아지고, 밀도와 종자도 안정되어 있었다. 조림후 2년이 지난 1985년조림지에서는 동경사면인 I구가 서면사면인 II구보다 종다양도가 높았다. 계절적 군집구조는 온도가 높은 8월과 유기물함량이 가장 많은 10월에 밀도와 종류가 높은데 이는 톡톡이군의 활동이 온도, 습도, 유기물량에 형향을 받는 것으로 생각된다.