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Hormesis induced by silver iodide, hydrocarbons, microplastics, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals: Implications for agroforestry ecosystems health
Summary
This review examines how silver iodide from weather modification programs, along with microplastics, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, and pesticides, can induce hormesis in agroforestry ecosystems. Researchers found that these contaminants produce a biphasic dose response, with potentially stimulatory effects at low doses but toxic effects at higher concentrations. The study highlights the complex and often unpredictable interactions between multiple environmental contaminants in agricultural and forest settings.
Increasing amounts of silver iodide (AgI) in the environment are expected because of the recent massive expansion of weather modification programs. Concurrently, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, hydrocarbons, and pesticides in terrestrial ecosystems continue contaminating forests and agroforests. Our review supports that AgI induces hormesis, a biphasic dose response characterized by often beneficial low-dose responses and toxic high-dose effects, which adds to the evidence for pharmaceuticals, microplastics, hydrocarbons, and pesticides induced hormesis in numerous species. Doses smaller than the no-observed-adverse-effect-level (NOAEL) positively affect defense physiology, growth, biomass, yields, survival, lifespan, and reproduction. They also lead to negative or undesirable outcomes, including stimulation of pathogenic microbes, pest insects, and weeds with enhanced resistance to drugs and potential negative multi- or trans-generational effects. Such sub-NOAEL effects perplex terrestrial ecosystems managements and may compromise combating outbreaks of disease vectors that can threaten not only forest and agroforestry health but also sensitive human subpopulations living in remote forested areas.