Possibilities of using the German Federal States’ permanent soil monitoring program for the monitoring of potential effects of genetically modified organisms (GMO)

Abstract

BackgroundIn the Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release of genetically modified organisms (GMO) into the environment, a monitoring of potential risks is prescribed after their deliberate release or placing on the market. Experience and data of already existing monitoring networks should be included. The present paper summarizes the major findings of a project funded by the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Nutzungsmöglichkeiten der Boden—Dauerbeobachtung der Länder für das Monitoring der Umweltwirkungen gentechnisch veränderter Pflanzen. BfN Skripten, Bonn-Bad Godesberg 369, 2014). The full report in german language can be accessed on http://www.bfn.de and is available as Additional file 1. The aim of the project was to check if it is possible to use the German permanent soil monitoring program (PSM) for the monitoring of GMO. Soil organism communities are highly diverse and relevant with respect to the sustainability of soil functions. They are exposed to GMO material directly by feeding or indirectly through food chain interactions. Other impacts are possible due to their close association to soil particles.ResultsThe PSM program can be considered as representative with regard to different soil types and ecoregions in Germany, but not for all habitat types relevant for soil organisms. Nevertheless, it is suitable as a basic grid for monitoring the potential effects of GMO on soil invertebrates.ConclusionsPSM sites should be used to derive reference values, i.e. range of abundance and presence of different relevant species of soil organisms. Based on these references, it is possible to derive threshold values to define the limit of acceptable change or impact. Therefore, a minimum set of sites and minimum set of standardized methods are needed, i.e. characterization of each site, sampling of selected soil organism groups, adequate adaptation of methods for the purpose of monitoring of potential effects of GMO. Finally, and probably most demanding, it is needed to develop a harmonized evaluation concept.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12302-015-0057-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Proposal for a Monitoring Concept for Veterinary Medicinal Products with PBT Properties, Using Parasiticides as a Case Study

“…Relevant aspects related to the post-authorization of parasiticides were compiled based on personal experience, e.g., from field studies performed with ivermectin [ 21 , 22 ], or information from available literature [ 23 ]. In addition, experiences from other legal frameworks such as the registration of pesticides [ 16 , 24 ], or the environmental risk assessment of genetically modified organisms (GMO) [ 25 ] were considered.…”

Soil biodiversity data: Actual and potential use in European and national legislation

“…However, in the application of these methods for individual PPP, field trials take place in general, without detailed guidance or standardization. These are performed where a risk has been identified in lower-tier laboratory studies (usually focusing on earthworms (ISO (International Organization for Standardization), 1999), but sometimes and also for their post-registration monitoring (Hilbeck et al, 2008), including developing potential schema for soil monitoring activities (Ruf et al, 2013;Toschki et al, 2015). Monitoring of dung organism communities, especially dung flies and dung beetles, was recently proposed as part of the registration of veterinary pharmaceuticals (Adler et al, 2013).…”