1 Ecological approaches in soil ecotoxicology.- One Extrapolation From Experiments.- 2 Scientific basis for extrapolating results from soil ecotoxicity tests to field conditions and the use of bioassays.- 3 Is it possible to develop microbial test systems to evaluate pollution effects on soil nutrient cycling?.- Two Populations in Soil.- 4 Ecotoxicology, biodiversity and the species concept with special reference to springtails (Insecta: Collembola).- 5 Effects of toxicants on population and community parameters in field conditions, and their potential use in the validation of risk assessment methods.- Three The Soil as an Ecosystem.- 6 Linking structure and function in marine sedimentary and terrestrial soil ecosystems: implications for extrapolation from the laboratory to the field.- 7 A food-web approach to assess the effects of disturbance on ecosystem structure, function and stability.- Four The Spatial Component of Soil Communities.- 8 Scale dependency in the ecological risks posed by pollutants: is there a role for ecological theory in risk assessment?.- 9 Dispersal, heterogeneity, and resistance: challenging soil quality assessment.- Five The Role of Ecological Modelling.- 10 The use of models in ecological risk assessment.- 11 A physiologically driven mathematical simulation model as a tool for extension of results from laboratory tests to ecosystem effects.- Six Ecological Approaches: Case Studies.- 12 Extrapolation of laboratory toxicity results to the field: a case study using the OECD artificial soil earthworm toxicity test.- 13 Life-table study with the springtail Folsomia candida (Willem) exposed to cadmium, chlorpyrifos and triphenyltin hydroxide.- 14 Reaction norms for life-history traits as the basis for the evaluation of critical effect levels of toxicants.- 15 Estimating fitness costs of pollution in iteroparous invertebrates.- Seven Recommendations.- 16 Soil ecotoxicology: still new ways to explore or just paving the road?.