I think its a dubious comparison - like comparing the physiological effects of a drug, with a physical altercation. Hoeing (chopping and mixing the soil) has a

I think its a dubious comparison - like comparing the physiological effects of a drug, with a physical altercation. Hoeing (chopping and mixing the soil) has a radical effect on its biology, which the researchers mention as "the inevitable indirect effects caused by the destruction of live vegetation". The effects of rare pollutants tend to be more subtle, yet they only look for glyphosates effects in hoed soil, which is already very disturbed.