Effects of the herbicide glyphosate on non-target plant native species from Chaco forest (Argentina)

FLORENCIA, FERREIRA MARÍA; CAROLINA, TORRES; ENZO, BRACAMONTE; LEONARDO, GALETTO

ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Año: 2017 vol. 144 p. 360 - 360

0147-6513

griculture based on transgenic crops has expanded in Argentina into areas formerly occupied by Chaco forest. Even though glyphosate is the herbicide most widely used in the world, increasing evidence indicates severe ecotoxicological effects on non-target organisms as native plants. The aim of this work is to determine glyphosate effects on 23 native species present in the remaining Chaco forests immersed in agricultural matrices. This is a laboratory/greenhouse approach studying acute effects on seedlings after 21 days. A gradient of glyphosate rates (525, 1050, 2100, 4200, and 8400 g ai/Ha; recommended field application rate (RFAR) = 2100 g ai/Ha) was applied on four-week seedlings cultivated in a greenhouse and response variables (phytotoxicity, growth reduction, and sensitivity to the herbicide) were measured. This gradient of herbicide rates covers realistic rates of glyphosate applications in the crop field and also those that can reach vegetation of forest relicts by off-target