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1L - Exposure Modelling (WEP/92) Field-scale model for predicting soil and groundwater concentrations of pesticides. Jantunen, Paula1, 2, Trevisan, Marco1, 1 Istituto di Chimica Agraria ed Ambientale, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Piacenza, PC, Italy2 Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology and Ecotoxicology, University of Joensuu, Joensuu, Joensuu, Finland ABSTRACT- Pollution of the soil and groundwater by pesticides is a major environmental concern in those areas of Europe where strong and widespread agriculture is practised. While efficient pest control, which usually involves use of pesticides, is necessary for efficient agricultural food production in most climates, rationalising the selection and application of pesticides can significantly reduce the environmental damage. As a part of a larger software entity for optimising the use of agrochemicals and machinery on farm level, a mechanistic field-scale pesticide leaching model is being designed to simulate the main processes that affect the fate of pesticides applied on fields: drift, run-off, volatilisation, leaching, drainage and plant uptake. This model is based on the part of the Dutch model PEARL (PEARL model for pesticide behaviour and emissions in soil-plant systems: description of the processes, Leistra et al., RIVM report 711401009, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 2000) that describes pesticide behaviour in the environment. Particular attention in model development is given to including significant processes not covered by PEARL, improving the mathematical description of various processes that affect pesticide fate - particularly plant uptake and above-ground processes that determine the amount of pesticide actually reaching the soil - and describing and analysing the structure, limitations and uncertainties of the new model. The software entity, in development by the Italian SIPEAA (Software Tools for Eco-compatible Farm Planning) project, aims to integrate procedures for evaluating technical, environmental and economical aspects of agriculture at the farm level. Key words: soil, pesticide fate, groundwater, agriculture |
