RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN ECOTOXICOLOGICAL TOOLS FOR CONTAMINATED AND REMEDIATED SOILS: LABORATORY TESTS USING HIGHER PLANTS

Key words: ecotoxicological, toxicity tests, soil criteria, quality of the soils

Ecotoxicological tests have intensively been discussed as tools for the evalua- tion of soil quality. One aim of the German Law for Soil Protection is to pre- serve the habitat function of soils. Tests with whole soil and soil living organisms, including plants allow direct estimates of this important soil func- tion. Results from such whole soil ecotoxicological tests can more directly be used in assessing the risk for the habitat function than the analytical measure- ment of known soil contaminants. The advantage of biotests becomes more evident when soils containing mixtures of contaminants and unknown sub- stances have to be judged.