Pesticide water variability and prioritization

The presence of pesticides in aquatic ecosystems poses significant risks to non-target organisms, necessitating monitoring and environmental risk assessment. This study aimed to evaluate the dynamics and environmental risk of pesticides in a hydro-agricultural area with intensive agricultural practices, in the Mediterranean region (South of Portugal). Seasonality and location influenced pesticide numbers and concentrations, with the highest levels observed during the dry season. Triazines, phenylureas, and organophosphates were the predominant pesticide classes, with terbuthylazine, bentazone, terbutryn, diazinon, and metolachlor exhibiting the highest detection frequencies (68 % to 72 %). Notably, 44 % of the quantified pesticides are no longer authorized in Portugal, with 33 % posing a high environmental risk. Some insecticides, including imidacloprid, methiocarb, and malathion, were occasionally detected at concentrations that posed high risks to the aquatic ecosystem (RQ ≥ 1). Irgarol, an algicide used in irrigation canals, presented a high risk in 91 % of the analysed samples. The study's distribution profile of pesticides revealed a significant transportation of these compounds from reservoirs to irrigation hydrants, establishing them as a secondary source of crop and environmental contamination. Additionally, the assessment of spatial distribution and environmental risk allowed for the identification of specific pollutants in different locations, prioritizing them based on their ecotoxicological risk to aquatic ecosystems. These findings reinforce the importance of implementing management measures at the level of hydro-agricultural areas, helping to stop the cycle of pesticide contamination. Only this type of strategy will make it possible to protect water quality, biodiversity and the health of citizens, contributing to the European Union's objectives of improving the condition of freshwater bodies and promoting the sustainable use of pesticides.

Descrição

Funding Information: The work is co-funded by National funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia , I.P. (projects UIDB/04683/2020 and UIDP/04683/2020 ), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development through the FitoFarmGest Operational Group ( PDR2020-101-030926 ), and the Government of Catalonia ( 2017 SGR 01404 ). Adriana Catarino acknowledges a doctoral scholarship funded by the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) ( 202304004.BD ). Funding Information: The work is co-funded by National funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, I.P. (projects UIDB/04683/2020 and UIDP/04683/2020), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development through the FitoFarmGest Operational Group (PDR2020-101-030926), and the Government of Catalonia (2017 SGR 01404). Adriana Catarino acknowledges a doctoral scholarship funded by the Portuguese Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) (202304004.BD). We acknowledge the E-OBS dataset from the EU-FP6 project UERRA (https://www.uerra.eu) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service, and the data providers in the ECA&D project (https://www.ecad.eu). Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors

Palavras-chave

Environmental risk assessment Guadiana Basin Hydro-agricultural system Pesticide contamination cycle Water pollution Environmental Engineering Environmental Chemistry Waste Management and Disposal Pollution SDG 2 - Zero Hunger SDG 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation SDG 15 - Life on Land

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10362/172609

DOI

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170304

Coleções

Home collection (FCT)

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