The Department of Terrestrial Ecology and SOFAR have made a significant contribution to the development and the application of terrestrial ecotoxicological tests.

We can provide a full terrestrial test battery needed in autorisations of e.g. pesticides, industrial chemicals and pharmaceuticals. This includes, for example, earthworm, plant, nitrogen transformation and/or litter bag tests. The tests are performed according to OECD guidelines, ISO standards and internal standard operation procedures (SOPs). If needed, more specialised investigations can be performed on request.

Tests and analyses can be performed in accordance with the OECD principles of good laboratory practice (GLP), and our laboratories are accredited for these analyses by the Danish accreditation institute, DANAK .

The Department was co-ordinator for EU RTD projects under "SECOFASE" (Development, improvement and standardisation of Test Systems for Assessing Sublethal Effects of Chemicals on Fauna in the Soil Ecosystem).  The SECOFASE project resulted in the development of a practical handbook - providing accurate test protocols for a large number of soil fauna species.

SOFAR routinely uses a wide variety of these assays for ecotoxicological laboratory testing. The assays include tests with springtails (Folsomia fimetaria, Folsomia candida), enchytraeids (Enchytraeus albidus, Enchytraeus crypticus), earthworms (Eisenia fetida, Aporrectodea caliginosa) and a two-species test using the predatory mite Hypoaspis aculeifer feeding on the springtail F. fimetaria . Finally, we conduct multi-species soil tests in semi-field mesocoms studies.

SOFAR also performs field studies of microarthropod and earthworm communities in compliance with GLP standards. These have, typically, considered problems associated with pesticides, sewage, sludge and the use of genetically engineered crops such as Bt-corn .