Movement of fluometuron, simazine, 36Cl− and 144Ce3+ in soil under field conditions: qualitative aspects

The distributions of two herbicides and two radioactive ions in field plots at two sites were determined at periods up to 187 days following surface applications in the spring. The results demonstrated the variability characteristic of field situations. At one site some fluometuron moved a short distance down the profile but after 187 days most remained above 6 cm whereas at the other site there was essentially no movement below 3 cm. At both sites simazine was almost entirely confined to the top 3 cm. The adsorption characteristics of the two compounds are similar so the greater mobility of fluometuron is probably a consequence of its greater solubility, Measurements of ³⁶Cl^? indicated a significant movement of water through the 30 cm depth studied. ¹⁴⁴Ce³⁺ used as a tracer of soil particles was of similar mobility to simazine. In general the movement of chloride and the two herbicides can be interpreted in terms of the concept of mobile and immobile fractions of soil water in which a proportion of the mobile water does not reach equilibrium with solutes in the bulk of the soil. Soil structural effects may therefore be more important than adsorption in controlling the movement of solutes and redistribution in association with soil particles can be significant. A parallel laboratory experiment showed that the results from a standard leaching column procedure did not necessarily indicate field performance.