nontarget

Nontarget refers to organisms or ecological processes that are not intended to be affected by a chemical, management practice, or other intervention. The term is commonly used in environmental toxicology, ecology, and regulatory risk assessment to distinguish intended targets from unintended recipients in an environment.

In practice, nontarget organisms include pollinators, surface-dwelling predators, birds, aquatic invertebrates, soil fauna, and non-crop plants that may be exposed to pesticides or other control agents. Nontarget effects can arise from direct exposure, indirect ecological interactions, or environmental pathways such as runoff, drift, or persistence in soil and water. Documented examples include adverse impacts on pollinators from certain pesticides, mortality of aquatic species due to runoff, and disruption of food webs by broad-spectrum controls.

Regulatory frameworks often require assessment of nontarget risks through laboratory toxicity tests, mesocosm or ecosystem studies, and field monitoring. Risk management strategies aim to reduce nontarget harm by improving selectivity, altering application timing, enhancing drift reduction, establishing buffer zones, and integrating pest management practices that rely on targeted control methods rather than broad-spectrum use.

Related terms include non-target species, off-target effects, and ecological risk assessment. While the concept is most prominent in agriculture and environmental protection, it also appears in other domains where unintended effects on non-target components are a concern.