Soils, Sec 2 Global Change, Environ Risk Assess, Sustainable Land Use Research Article

soils, sec 2 • global change, environ risk assess, sustainable land use • research article

Electronic Supplementary Material to:

Effects of boric acid on various microbes, plants and soil invertebrates

Leonie Becker • Adam Scheffczyk • Bernhard Förster • Jörg Oehlmann • Juliska Princz • Jörg Römbke • Thomas Moser

Received: 5 May 2010 / 6 August 2010

Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

L. Becker () • A. Scheffczyk • B. Förster • J. Römbke • T. Moser

ECT Oekotoxikologie GmbH, Böttgerstraße 2-14, 65439 Flörsheim, Germany

L. Becker • J. Oehlmann

Goethe University, Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Siesmayerstraße 70, 60323 Frankfurt/Main, Germany

L. Becker ()

Current address:

Institute of Soil Science and Soil Conservation, Research Centre for BioSystems, Land Use and Nutrition (IFZ), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392 Giessen, Germany

e-mail:

J. Princz

Environment Canada, Biological Methods Section, Wildlife Toxicology and Disease Division, Environment Canada, 335 River Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H3, Canada

Table S1 Selected physical and chemical properties of boric acid (HERA 2005, Princz 2005, Streit 1991,

Name / Boric Acid
Molecular Weight / 61.8 g/mole
pH / 3.8-4.8 (at 33 g/L H2O, 20°C)
pKa / 9.24
Boiling Point / 300°C
Melting Point / 160°C
Flammability / Non-flammable
Vapor Pressure / 2.6 mm Hg (20°C)
Specific Density / 1.44 g/cm3 (20°C)
Log KOW / 0.76 (25°C, experimentally determined, IUCLID), no bioaccumulation to be expected
Volatility / Not volatile
Adsorption / Desorption / No adsorption on particles to be expected
Solubility in water / Soluble, 50 g/L (21°C)
Physical state and appearance / (Crystalline) solid
Color / White
Odor / Odorless

Table S2 Selected physico-chemical properties of the test soils at the start and end of the tests (a = % soil (dw)). WHCmax. = maximum water-holding capacity; n. d. = not determined since this is not required by the respective guidelines. bLUFA Standard Soil. Please note that values given cover the whole range measured in all replicates of one test

Test organism / pH
(test start) / pH
(test
end) / Moisture (test start)
% WHCmax. / Moisture (test end)
% WHCmax.
Nitrogen transform. / 6.4b / n. d. / n. d. / n. d.
Avena
sativa / 6.4b / n. d. / n. d. / n. d.
Brassica napus / 6.4b / n. d. / n. d. / n. d.
Caenorhabdi-tis elegans / 5.7 - 5.8 / n. d. / 37.6 - 40.0a / n. d.
Enchytraeus crypticus / 5.7 - 6.1 / 5.6 - 6.0 / 56.5 - 58.4 / 54.0 - 59.3
Enchytraeus luxuriosus / 6.4 - 6.7 / 5.8 - 6.2 / 55.9 - 58.9 / 53.3 - 57.6
Eisenia
fetida / 5.8 - 5.9 / 5.8 - 6.1 / 55.9 - 64.3 / 54.6 - 62.6
Folsomia candida / 6.3 - 6.4 / 6.1 - 6.6 / 55.8 - 58.7 / 51.9 - 54.7
Poecilus cupreus / 5.9 - 5.9 / 5.6 - 7.0 / 46.0 - 50.0 / 43.2 - 50.0

Figure captions

Fig. S1 Sigmoid concentration-response curve based on probit analysis, showing the reduction of biomass [g (fw)] of A. sativa relative to the control growth (expressed as a percentage of the control (= 0%)) at the end of the test against the concentration of boric acid (logarithmic x-axis)

Fig. S2 Sigmoid concentration-response curve based on probit analysis, showing the reduction of biomass [g (fw)] of B. napus relative to the control growth (expressed as a percentage of the control (= 0%)) at the end of the test against the concentration of boric acid (logarithmic x-axis)

Fig. S3 Sigmoid concentration-response curve based on probit analysis, showing the reduction of reproduction of C. elegans relative to reproduction in the control treatment (expressed as a percentage of the control (= 0%)) at the end of the test against the concentration of boric acid (logarithmic x-axis)

Fig. S4 Sigmoid concentration-response curve based on probit analysis, showing the reduction of reproduction of E. crypticus relative to reproduction in the control treatment (expressed as a percentage of the control (= 0%)) at the end of the test against the concentration of boric acid (logarithmic x-axis)

Fig. S5 Sigmoid concentration-response curve based on probit analysis, showing the reduction of reproduction of E. luxuriosus relative to reproduction in the control treatment (expressed as a percentage of the control (= 0%)) at the end of the test against the concentration of boric acid (logarithmic x-axis)

Fig. S6 Sigmoid concentration-response curve based on probit analysis, showing the reduction of reproduction of E. fetida relative to reproduction in the control treatment (expressed as a percentage of the control (= 0%)) at the end of the test against the concentration of boric acid (logarithmic x-axis)

Figure S1

Figure S2

Figure S3

Figure S4

Figure S5

Figure S6