Johann G. Zaller

BOKU University | boku · Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research

Pesticide drift onto non-agricultural land is a common problem in intensively farmed regions, and national action plans have been established across Europe to prevent it. Here, we analyzed official data on pesticide residues in grass samples collected over six years to determine whether implemented measures to reduce pesticide drift were effective....

The production of synthetic pesticides is energy intensive and can emit even more greenhouse gases (GHG) per kg than the production of synthetic fertilizers. However, this aspect is largely neglected when it comes to agriculture’s contribution to GHG emissions. Using official pesticide sales data from Austria from 2000 to 2019, we analyzed (i) tren...

Little is known about (i) how numbers and concentrations of airborne pesticide residues are influenced by land use, interactions with meteorological parameters, or by substance-specific chemo-physical properties, and (ii) what potential toxicological hazards this could pose to non-target organisms including humans. We installed passive air samplers...

Background Pesticide use has been associated with risks for human health and an overall decline in biodiversity. Although herbicides are the most commonly used pesticides worldwide, they have received less attention in this debate. We investigated the extent to which long-term trends in herbicide use in Austria influence potential toxic exposures t...

In their response to our paper on harness- ing biodiversity-friendly landscapes [1], Brühl et al. [2] argue that we underestimate the benefits of banning synthetic pesti- cides in organic farming. We thank the authors for highlighting the importance of reducing pesticide applications for biodi- versity conservation, an assessment that we share [3–5...

It is debated whether the ecotoxicity of active substances (ASs) contained in synthetic pesticides applied in conventional agriculture (conASs) differs from nature-based ASs used in organic agriculture (orgASs). Using the official pesticide use statistics, we evaluated the ecotoxicity of ASs used in apple and grapevine production in Austria. In 202...

Artificial light at night (ALAN), also known as light pollution, is a growing environmental problem worldwide. However, only a few studies have examined whether soil organisms that search for food at the surface at night can be affected by ALAN. We investigated the effects of ALAN on the above-ground foraging activity of anecic earthworms (Lumbricu...

Vineyard soils are often of inherently poor quality with low organic carbon content. Management can improve soil properties and thus soil fertility. In European wine‐growing regions, a broad range of inter‐row management strategies evolved based on specific local site conditions and the varying effects of management intensities on soil, water balan...

The intensity and frequency of inter‐row management in vineyards are highly diverse and depend on local environmental conditions and the wine grower's attitude and experience. Reasons for different management include water conservation, weed and pest control, biological activity promotion and soil fertility and biodiversity preservation. We studied...

The production of conventional ornamental plants is pesticide-intensive. We investigated whether pesticide active ingredients (AIs) are still present in ornamentals at the time of purchase and assessed their potential ecotoxicity to non-target organisms. We purchased 1000 pot plants and 237 cut flowers of different species from garden centers in Au...

Permaculture is proposed as a tool to design and manage agroecological systems in response to the pressing environmental challenges of soil degradation, climate change and biodiversity loss. However, scientific evidence on the effects of permaculture is still scarce. In this comprehensive study on a wide range of soil and biodiversity indicators, w...

Pesticides affect biota inside and outside agricultural fields due to their intrinsic mode of action. This study investigated whether pesticide active substances (AS) approved for conventional agriculture in Europe differ in their ecotoxicity from AS approved for organic agriculture. The evaluation was based on official ecotoxicological data for su...

Effects of mowing on vegetation parameters have been well studied. However, less is known about mowing effects on soil fauna and if soil properties alter this. We investigated earthworm communities in a long-term experiment 14 years after its establishment in 5 dry, fresh and moist grassland plots located in the Natura 2000 site Lainzer Tiergarten...

Restoring the heterogeneity of farmland mosaics can help mitigate the ongoing global decline of biodiversity. It has been shown that semi‐natural habitats in viticultural landscapes influence biodiversity in vineyards. However, less attention has been paid to the influence of the extent of vineyard fields and their arrangement in the landscape. Usi...

Pesticides are transferred outside of cropland and can affect animals and plants. Here we investigated the distribution of 97 current use pesticides in soil and vegetation as central exposure matrices of insects. Sampling was conducted on 53 sites along eleven altitudinal transects in the Vinschgau valley (South Tyrol, Italy), in Europe's largest a...

Glyphosate (GLY), the most widely used herbicide active ingredient (AI) in the world, is frequently detected in aquatic environments where it can affect non-target organisms. Globally, more than 2000 commercial GLY-based herbicides (GBHs) are used to control weeds. Non-target organisms are exposed to complex pesticide formulations under real enviro...

Background Artificial light at night, also referred to as light pollution (LP), has been shown to affect many organisms. However, little is known about the extent to which ecological interactions between earthworms and plants are altered by LP. We investigated the effects of LP on anecic earthworms ( Lumbricus terrestris ) that come to the surface...

Glyphosate is the most widely used active ingredient (AI) in glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) worldwide and is also known to affect a variety of soil organisms. However, we know little about how the effects of glyphosate AIs differ from those of GBHs that also contain so-called inert co-formulants. We conducted a greenhouse experiment using the m...

Renewable energy production is gaining momentum globally as a way to combat climate change without drastically reducing human energy consumption. Solar energy offers the fastest developing solution. However, ground-mounted solar panels have a high land requirement, which leads to conflicts with other land use types, particularly agriculture and bio...

In recent decades, agricultural intensification has led to a loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services such as natural pest control. Conservation biological control addresses this problem by generally extensifying farming and/or providing alternative habitats and food sources for natural enemies of pest species. However, farmers implem...

Glyphosate is the most widely used active ingredient (AI) in thousands of glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) worldwide. Short-term impacts of AIs or GBHs on earthworms are well known, but few studies have examined long-term legacy effects >3 months after application. In a pot experiment, we studied both short-term and long-term effects on deep burr...

Glyphosate (GLY), the most widely used herbicide in the world, is frequently detected in various environmental matrices, including soil, the foundation of agriculture. In practice, more than 2000 GLY-based herbicide (GBH) products are used, consisting of one or more active ingredients (AIs) and so-called “inert” co-formulants that increase the effi...

Herbicides are the most widely used class of pesticides in the world, applied to eliminate target plants that compete with crops or to kill crop plants to facilitate harvesting. Impacts of herbicide use is not limited to plants but has various consequences for other non-target organisms including humans, overall biodiversity and ecosystem functions...

Organic farming is a promising but still debated option to ensure sustainable agriculture. However, whether organic farming fosters synergies or mitigates tradeoffs between biodiversity, ecosystem services and crop production has rarely been quantified. Here, we investigate relationships between multitrophic diversity (14 taxa above and belowground...

Soil macrofauna plays a crucial role in ecosystem services and stability. They perform diverse set of ecosystem services that contribution to soil health, plant, and human wellbeing. However, little is known about the diversity, abundance, and distribution of soil macrofauna in Europe. Furthermore, the extent to which soil management practices impa...

Apples are the third most produced fruit in the world, but their production is often pesticide-intensive. Our objective was to identify options for pesticide reduction using farmer records from 2549 commercial apple fields in Austria during five years between 2010 and 2016. Using generalized additive mixed modeling, we examined how pesticide use wa...

Little is known about the non-target effects of glyphosate active ingredients (GLY) versus glyphosate-based herbicide (GBH) formulations on soil organisms, and whether effects are influenced by environmental conditions. We investigated the avoidance behavior, biomass growth, and reproduction of earthworms (Eisenia fetida, E. andrei) in response to...

There is much debate about whether the (mostly synthetic) pesticide active substances (AS) in conventional agriculture have different non-target effects than the natural AS in organic agriculture. We evaluated the official EU pesticide database to compare 256 AS that may only be used on conventional farmland with 134 AS that are permitted on organi...

To better understand the influence of land use and meteorological parameters on air pollutants, we deployed passive air samplers in 15 regions with different land use in eastern Austria. The samplers consisted of polyurethane PUF and polyester PEF filter matrices, which were analyzed for 566 substances by gas-chromatography/mass-spectrometry. In a...

Healthy soils form the basis of sustainable viticulture, where soil characteristics have a direct impact on wine quantity and quality. Soil not only provides water and nutrients to vines, but is also a living medium containing micro- and macroorganisms that perform many ecological functions and provide ecosystem services. These organisms are involv...

Earthworms are among the most important soil organisms in agricultural soils. They perform services as colonizers and engineers within the soil, and through their interactions with other soil biota, can contribute to soil health, nutrient cycling, changes in soil food web dynamics, organic matter decomposition, and disease control. However, little...

Grasshoppers (Orthoptera, suborders Ensifera and Caelifera) are often used as bioindicators to assess the effects of human-induced land-use changes. However, such assessment is largely depending on the methods that provide an accurate estimation. In the present study, we compared grasshopper species richness and assemblages on mountainous meadows i...

Background In a previous study, we found that 45% of public playgrounds near intensively managed agricultural areas were contaminated with mainly endocrine active pesticide residues in spring. Here, we investigated potential contamination over the course of a year. Methods Residue data were analyzed from 96 grass samples collected in spring, summe...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Background Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) are among the most often used pesticides. The hundreds of GBHs used worldwide consist of the active ingredient (AI) glyphosate in form of different salts, possibly other AIs, and various mostly undisclosed co-formulants. Pesticide risk assessments are commonly performed using single AIs or GBHs at stand...

Habitat fragmentation is one of the drivers for amphibian population declines globally. Especially in industrialized countries roads disrupt the seasonal migration of amphibians between hibernation and reproduction sites, often ending in roadkills. Thus, a timely installing of temporary mitigation measures is important for amphibian conservation. W...

To the Editor — Access to pesticide-use data is essential to accurately evaluate the adverse effects of pesticides on human and ecosystem health. In Europe, applicators are usually required to record the location and date of pesticide applications1. A subset of these data is periodically sampled to produce heavily aggregated estimates of pesticide...

Die sogenannte konventionelle Landwirtschaft ist mittlerweile in einer großen Abhängigkeit von synthetischen Pestiziden. Das Arsenal an Insektiziden, Herbiziden, Fungiziden und anderen Pestiziden umfasst allein in Deutschland 288 zugelassene Wirkstoffe und >1.700 Produkte, die von beruflichen und nicht-beruflichen Verwendern zu 81.473 Tonnen im Jah...

Herbicides: Chemistry, Efficacy, Toxicology, and Environmental Impacts addresses contemporary debates on herbicide toxicology. The reader is offered a comprehensive overview of this complex topic, presented by internationally recognized experts. Information presented will inform discussions on the use of herbicides in modern agricultural and other...

The invasive Spanish slug ( Arion vulgaris ) is an important pest species in agriculture and horticulture in Europe. In the last decades it has spread across the continent where it outcompetes native slug and snail species, thus posing a threat for biodiversity. A popular anecdote suggests to promote Roman snails ( Helix pomatia ) in gardens becaus...

Wild bees are threatened by multiple interacting stressors, such as habitat loss, land use change, parasites, and pathogens. However, vineyards with vegetated inter-rows can offer high floral resources within viticultural landscapes and provide foraging and nesting habitats for wild bees. Here, we assess how vineyard management regimes (organic vs....

Herbicides are discussed in this book from various perspectives. With dozens of modes of action, thousands of products, and a worldwide use of about 1 million tons per year, herbicides are among the most important chemicals—used not only in conventional agriculture but also for nonagricultural purposes. Information compiled in this book on toxicolo...

Herbicides—agrochemicals to prevent or interrupt the growth of unwanted plants—are known from ancient agriculture, when natural products (salt, olive oil lees) were used. Chemically synthesized herbicides were developed in the mid 20th century. The definition of a weed is not always clear and is context-specific. Agricultural yield was increased th...

Indirect effects of herbicides can have severe consequences on organisms and ecosystem functioning. Spray drift and erosion by wind and water distribute herbicides widely in noncrop areas, and effects on biodiversity and food web interactions trigger further ecosystem changes. An increasing body of evidence deals with herbicide effects on crop dise...

Direct impacts of herbicides on terrestrial nontarget organisms are manifold. Because of the great variety in modes of action, it is impossible to derive consistent response patterns. Effects can differ even within the same herbicide class. Most animal testing for regulatory purposes is done on laboratory mammals (mice, rats), birds (quail, ducks),...

This book is a sound science report about the consequences of pesticides to nature, health and environment. The book shares essential insights into the use of pesticides in agriculture, discusses the politics, rhetoric and profits involved, addresses the potential health and ecological risks of pesticides in our daily lives, and debates possible so...

The good thing first: there are plenty of ways to avoid pesticides. Compared to tackling human-made climate change, the pesticide issue seems rather straightforward and much easier to solve—there not would be the multinational agrochemical industry and their allies with their enormous economic and political influence. There is absolutely no need to...

Pesticide impacts on the environment and humans are manifold. Due to the enormous variety of active ingredients with different mode of actions, no general patterns for the different pesticide classes can be identified. This chapter describes experiences from our own experiments and other studies testing pesticide effects on a variety of nontarget o...

Pesticides are substances that kill pestiferous organisms. They include insecticides against insect pests, herbicides against weeds, fungicides against fungal pathogens, acaricides against spiders and mites, molluscicides against slugs, and so on. Pesticide use is increasing worldwide with thousands of products available that are applied in million...

Extensively managed grasslands, particularly in mountain regions, are considered to be one of the most diverse agroecosystems worldwide. Their decline due to land use abandonment affects the diversity of both plants and associated pollinators. Extensive grasslands constitute an important habitat type and food resource for hoverflies (syrphids); how...

Vineyards are important perennial, often intensively managed agroecosystems. In most vineyards, ground vegetation is controlled by tillage and/or the application of broadband herbicides with scarcely known effects on the soil fauna. We studied a total of 16 commercial vineyards in the Târnave wine region, a typical viticultural region in Transylvan...

Cover crops are an essential element of sustainable agriculture and can affect earthworm populations. In a field trial, we investigated the effects of four cover crop treatments: radish (Raphanus sativus var. longipinnatus B.; at high and low seed density), black oat (Avena strigosa Schreb.) and Sudan grass (Sorghum sudanese M.) on earthworms under...

Vineyards show some of the largest erosion rates reported in agricultural areas in Europe. Reported rates vary considerably under the same land use, since erosion processes are highly affected by climate, soil, topography and by the adopted soil management practices. Literature also shows differences in the effect of same conservation practices on...

Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are currently the most widely used agrochemicals for weed control. Environmental risk assessments (ERA) on nontarget organisms mostly consider the active ingredients (AIs) of these herbicides, while much less is known on effects of commercial GBH formulations that are actually applied in the field. Moreover, it is...

Se pensate che il tema dei pesticidi vi possa interessare soltanto marginalmente, perché non siete agricoltori o non possedete un giardino, grazie a questo informatissimo e autorevole saggio dell’ecologo austriaco Johann Zaller scoprirete che vi sbagliate. Di fatto, purtroppo, è impossibile non venire a contatto con i pesticidi nella vita di tutti...

Vineyard inter-rows are important biodiversity hotspots within agricultural landscapes, especially when they are covered with vegetation. However, little is known on the effects to management intensity on a broad range of surface-dwelling invertebrates and their interaction with vegetation. We assessed the diversity and activity density of ants, be...

Semi-natural, extensively managed, grasslands are among the most species-rich agroecosystems in Europe. However, they are threatened by abandonment. We investigated the response of semi-natural grasslands to cessation of mowing at ten sites in three UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Switzerland and Austria. We assessed vegetation characteristics, topsoi...

Ökosysteme setzen sich aus belebten (biotischen) und unbelebten (abiotischen) Komponenten zusammen, die über Ökosystemprozesse miteinander verbunden sind. Hier stehen also Organismen (Pflanzen, Tiere, Mikroorganismen) in Wechselbeziehung mit ihrer Umwelt. Die Wechselbeziehungen zwischen den verschiedenen Komponenten können sich gegenseitig positiv...

Rea Maria Hall

In the last decades intensification and mechanisation of vineyard management caused a separation of production and conservation areas in the vineyards. However, there is limited field evaluation of its impact on commercial vineyard level. Our study evaluates the: (i) effects of two soil management (permanent and alternative vegetation cover and bar...

Risk Management Instead of Assessment The development of a new systemic approach for ERA will take considerable time and require substantial resources. We therefore also need to discuss other options to at least halt the negative effects of pesticides on biodiversity of the agricultural landscape. Risk management to mitigate negative pesticide effe...

Associations between biodiversity, human health and well-being have never been discussed with reference to agriculturally managed, species-rich mountainous meadows. We evaluated these associations between extensively managed (one mowing a year, no fertilization) and abandoned (no mowing since more than 80 years, no fertilization) semi-dry meadows l...

Land use at landscape and field scales can increase the diversity and abundance of natural enemies for pest control. In this study, we investigated interactions between landscape elements (semi-natural vegetation, olive orchards, vineyards, other agricultural areas) and inter-row management (vegetation cover vs. bare soil) in relation to arthropod...

Traditionally managed mountain grasslands are biodiversity hotspots in central Europe. However, socio-economic trends in agriculture during the last decades have changed farming practices, leaving steep and remote sites abandoned. Especially the abandonment of meadows is well known to directly affect plant and insect diversity. However, not much is...