Sorption of atrazine and dicamba in Delaware coastal plain soils: a comparison of soil thin layer and batch equilibrium results

The mobility and retention of atrazine and dicamba in six Atlantic Coastal Plain soils were estimated by soil thin-layer chromatography (soil-TLC). The soils studied were representative of the major agricultural regions in Delaware and were sampled, by horizon, to the water table. Four horizons from each profile were leached simultaneously with distilled water on one soil-TLC plate. Two values were obtained from each plate: the ratio of the distance traveled by the herbicide center of mass over that traveled by the solvent front (R_m), and a sorption distribution coefficient (K_d). The R_m values ranged from 0·06 to 0·94 for atrazine and from 0·80 to 0·94 for dicamba. Herbicide mobility was found to be greatest in coarse-textured soil horizons that contained low levels of organic matter, clay, and Fe and Al oxides. Correlation analysis indicated that effective cation exchange capacity, exchangeable acidity, exchangeable aluminum, and clay were useful predictive variables or both atrazine mobility and sorption. Organic matter was not useful for predicting soil-TLC derived sorption estimates; however, it was correlated to K_d-batch estimates. Distribution coefficients calculated from soil-TLC data were found to be in general agreement with K_d values obtained for the same soils by batch equilibrium techniques. The average K_d-soil-TLC values for atrazine and dicamba were 2·09(±2·24) and 0·03(±0·02), respectively. The ratio of the batch K_d to the soil-TLC K_d ranged from 0·1 to 19 (x̄=1·6, SD=3·8) for atrazine and from 2·9 to 38 (x̄=12·6, SD=8·7) for dicamba. Thus, although for some horizons agreement between the two methods was good, for other horizons significant discrepancies existed. It is suggested that the soil-TLC gives results under non-equilibrium conditions, whereas the batch procedure is, by definition, at quasi-equilibrium. These fundamental differences may account for the observed differences between the two methods. It is also suggested that, due to this difference, the soil-TLC procedure can provide additional information relevant to herbicide partitioning in the field environment that is not provided by traditional batch equilibrium techniques. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry     

The Validation of Pesticide Leaching Models

The validation of pesticide leaching models presents particular problems where the number of model predictions is far in excess of the observed data. Normally, however, there are more frequent field observations for other parameters (notably the site hydrology) than for pesticide concentrations in either water or soil. A five-stage validation procedure which takes advantage of the most frequently available observations and which tests each of the components of the model in a cumulative way, is thus advocated: Stage 1: Parameterisation of the model using only independently measured parameters. Stage 2: Hydrological validation: the validation of the predictions of water movement and water content of the soil. Stage 3: Solute movement validation: where field data are available for solutes other than pesticide, the model should first be validated for them, especially if they are more abundant than the pesticide observations. Conserved solutes such as chloride or bromide are preferred, although nitrate may be used for short periods. Stage 4: Pesticide fate in the soil: models should use parameters of pesticide fate derived from independent studies. Stage 5: Pesticide leaching: only in the last stage are the relatively small number of pesticide observations compared with the model predictions with respect to patterns and orders of magnitude of occurrence. With this scheme, the results of each stage are carried forward to the next, and confidence in the model is built with each stage. This is illustrated using the CRACK-P model and hydrological, nitrate and pesticide data from the Brimstone Farm Experiment Oxfordshire, UK.     

Sorption and leaching potential of herbicides on Brazilian soils

Sorption of the herbicides alachlor, atrazine, dicamba, hexazinone, imazethapyr, metsulfuron-methyl, nicosulfuron, simazine and sulfometuron-methyl was characterized on six Brazilian soils, using the batch equilibration method. In general, weak acid herbicides (dicamba, imazethapyr, metsulfuron-methyl, nicosulfuron and sulfometuron-methyl) were the least sorbed, whereas weak bases such as triazines and nonionic herbicides (alachlor) were the most sorbed. The Kd values found showed a significant correlation with soil organic carbon content (OC) for all herbicides except imazethapyr and nicosulfuron. Koc values showed a smaller variation among soils than Kd . To estimate the leaching potential, Koc and the ground-water ubiquity score (GUS) were used to calculate half-lives ( t_1/2 ) that would rank these herbicides as leachers or non-leachers. Comparison of calculated values to published values for t_1/2 demonstrated that sulfonylureas and hexazinone are leachers in all soils, alachlor is transitional, and atrazine, simazine and dicamba are leachers or transitional, depending on soil type. Results discussed in this paper provide background to prioritize herbicides or chemical groups that should be evaluated in field conditions with regard to their leaching potential to ground-water in tropical soils.     

黄土丘陵区典型植物种群下土壤大孔隙特征及其影响因素研究

采用亮蓝(Brilliant blue,FCF)野外染色示踪实验和图像分析技术,研究了陇中黄土高原安家坡流域典型植物种群下土壤大孔隙分布特征及其与植物种群和土壤物理性质的关系。结果表明:6种植物种群下土壤中的大孔隙流不同,大孔隙流使水分在土壤中的运移深度提高了2～3倍;随着土层深度的加深,6种植物种群下土壤的染色面积均呈减小趋势;6种植物种群下土壤中各级别大孔隙以2、3级大孔隙最多,平均占染色面积的29.3%和29.4%,其次是1级和4级大孔隙,分别占17%和19.8%,5级特大孔隙最低,占4.5%。大孔隙分布特征与土壤有机质含量和容重有关。     

Herbicide movement in soils: principles, pathways and processes

European legislation concerning ground- and surface-water quality and the protection of non-target organisms in surface-water from pesticide contamination has initiated more stringent data requirements from regulatory authorities concerning the movement of all pesticides in soils. Other interested parties, such as water companies, environment agencies and consumer-driven organizations, have sought to influence the use of herbicides and their impact on the environment. The resulting studies and associated research have led to a better understanding of the fate and behaviour of herbicides in the soil environment. The amount of herbicide that moves away from the area of application will depend on the physico-chemical properties of the chemical and the agroclimatic characteristics of the target site. Under average conditions, the amount of herbicide lost by movement from a soil profile is typically <0.1% to 1% of the applied mass but, under certain localized circumstances, can reach up to 5% or greater. Leaching, drain-flow and surface run-off are the main pathways responsible for herbicide movement within soils. The soil/herbicide processes determining the losses are also variable in both time and space. It is therefore necessary to understand the spatial characteristics of soils, their hydrology and the associated herbicide use patterns.     

Model Predictions and Field Measurements of Chlorsulfuron Leaching under Non-steady-state Flow Conditions

Model simulations of chlorsulfuron (1-(2-chlorophenylsulfonyl)-3-(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)urea) leaching in a loamy soil were made with the mechanistic dual-porosity model MACRO. Comparisons were made with a data set obtained in a lysimeter experiment in which leaching was measured during an 11-month period after applying chlorsulfuron at two rates (4 and 8 g ha⁻¹). In this experiment, peak concentrations appeared c.6 months after pesticide application, reaching levels of 14 and 21 ng litre⁻¹ in the low- and high-dose treatments, respectively. These peak concentrations appeared after c.70 mm of accumulated leachate, implying that some of the herbicide was displaced through the soil columns by non-equilibrium flow processes. Model calibration was limited to parameters related to evapotranspiration, water uptake by roots and degradation rates in the subsoil. With this minimum amount of calibration, the model successfully described the leaching pattern of chlorsulfuron, provided that the two-flow domain option in the model was used. Running the model in one-flow domain resulted in considerable underestimates of leaching of chlorsulfuron over the short-term (<1 year). The degradation rate in the subsoil was also found to be critical. It had to be increased about fivefold to match measured chlorsulfuron concentrations in leachate. At such concentrations, 0·012 g ha⁻¹ of chlorsulfuron (0·3% of that applied) was predicted to leach through the soil profile during the 11-month simulation period when the lower dose of the compound was applied.     

沙漠光伏电站地表蚀积发生机制实验研究

风沙活动引起地表侵蚀或堆积;影响光伏电站的安全运行。为阐明沙漠光伏电站地表风蚀的发生机制;通过风洞实验与数值模拟;分析了不同风速条件下（6 m∙s^-1;8 m∙s^-1;10 m∙s^-1）;光伏板在正、反风向下的风速流场特征及蚀积变化规律。结果表明：（1）光伏板改变了近地表风速和流场;形成了板前气流抬升区、板下气流加速区、板后涡流减速区及板尾气流恢复区;板下近地表风速显著增加;易掏蚀;而板后风速降低;易堆积。（2）反风向时;光伏板板下“狭管效应”导致气流加剧;风蚀明显大于正风向气流;而板后堆积与背风侧的涡流减速有关。（3）光伏电站边缘光伏阵列板下风蚀最为严重;而电站内部光伏阵列则风蚀较轻;随着光伏组件高度增加;板下风蚀有所减轻。研究结果可为沙漠光伏电站沙害防治和高效生产提供科学依据。     

Herbicides used in combination can reduce the probability of herbicide resistance in finite weed populations

A simulation study was conducted to examine the effect of pattern of herbicide use on development of resistance to two herbicides with different modes of action in finite weed populations. The effects of the size of the treatment area (analogous to initial weed population), germination fraction and degree of self‐pollination in the weed were investigated. The results indicate that the probability of developing resistance to one or both herbicides decreases as the size of the area/initial population decreases. For treatment areas of 100 ha or less with an initial weed seedbank of 100 seeds m^?2 and initial frequencies of the resistance genes of 10^?6, development of resistance to both herbicides (double‐resistance) is uncommon within 50 years for all types of weeds if both herbicides are used in all years (used in combination). If herbicides are used in alternate years (rotated) double‐resistance almost always occurs in 100 ha areas but is uncommon in areas of 1 ha or less. The results suggest that adoption of practices that limit movement of weeds in conjunction with using herbicides in combination rather than in rotation can substantially delay development of herbicide resistance.