Sulfadiazine (SDZ) and copper (Cu) are frequently detected in agricultural soils, but little is known on their single or combined impact on ammonia oxidizing microbial community and function across different soils.
In this study, a microcosm was conducted to distinguish the microbial ecotoxicity of SDZ and Cu across different soils by analyzing soil potential nitrification rate (PNR) and the
The results showed that the single spiking of SDZ caused a consistent decrease of soil PNR among three tested soils, but no consistent synergistic inhibition of SDZ and Cu was observed across these soils. Moreover, across three tested soils, the distinct responses to the single or joint exposure of SDZ and Cu were found in
Therefore, in addition to ecological functionality and the specific prokaryotic taxa, soil microbial ecotoxicity of SDZ and Cu also was dependent on edaphic factors derived from soil types. This study proposes an integrative assessment of soil properties and multiple microbial targets to soil contamination management.