The Effects of Cadmium on Soil Free Living Nematodes

The effect of heavy metal Cadmium on soil free living nematode was studied within the microcosm. The results show that: With the increase of concentration, the proportion of bacterial-feeding nematodes was keeping increasing, while the proportion of fungal-feeding nematodes decreased. Concerning to Maturity Index 2-5 (MI2-5), there was no significant difference between 2.5 mg-kg^-1 Cd treatment and control, but in the sampling day of 9,30 and 60, the treatments of 2.5 mg-kg^-1, 50 mg-kg^-1 were lower than control. Depending on the results, Enrichment Index (EI) was affected by each level of Cd concentration. The same trend with MI2-5, Stucture Index (SI) did not change in the 2.5 mg-kg^-1 treatment, but in the other two treatments the indices were lower. The organic matter was mainly decomposed through bacterial pathway. The applying of Cd could shift the decomposing pathway with more bacteria involved.