Introducing the Adverse Ecosystem Service Pathway as a Tool in Ecological Risk Assessment

Soils provide numerous ecosystem services (ESs) such as food production and water purification. These ESs result from soil organism interactions and activities, which are supported by the soil physicochemical properties. Risk assessment for this complex system requires understanding the relationships among its components, both in the presence and absence of stressors. To better understand the soil ecosystem and how exposure to potentially toxic elements impact ESs, we developed a quantitative technique, the adverse ecosystem service pathway (AESP) model. We sampled 47 soils across Canada and analyzed them for properties that included pH and cation exchange capacity. We spiked the soils with a metal mixture and measured 15 soil processes representing five ESs. Using a Pearson correlation, we confirmed that proxies of ESs are linked to soil properties. t test results showed that, apart from soil enzyme activities (p > 0.05), the processes underlying ES proxies are significantly reduced in metal-impacted soils. Using soil properties as predictors of ES proxies, we developed AESP models: one for spiked and another for control soils. These models showed adverse effects on ESs in spiked soils, depicted as changes in partial correlation coefficients. The AESP model, therefore, can be an important tool to understand complex ecosystems and improve risk assessment.