The use of diplopods in soil ecotoxicology – A review

• Diplopods are soil saprophagous and they are continuously exposed to soil contaminants.
• In diplopods, biological effects of environmental contaminants can be measurable at various levels of biological organization.
• Histopathologial analyses are a powerful tool to detect a broad range of different contaminant effects.
• Diplopods are recognizable sensitive to heavy metals.
• More studies of the effects of organic contaminants and complex mixtures are needed.

Diplopods play an important role in the dynamics of terrestrial ecosystems, actively participating in the decomposition of organic matter and soil aeration. They have gained increased attention from ecotoxicology research because they are continuously exposed to soil contaminants and biological effects of chemical stressors can be measurable at various levels of biological organization. This paper is the first review on the use of diplopods as soil bioindicators and compiles the effects of the different toxic chemical agents on these animals. Special emphasis is given on the interpretation of the effects of heavy metals and complex mixtures in target organs of diplopods.