engleski

Herbicides in the soil and waters of river Drava catchment area

The objective of this paper is to present the results of the 15 years long research into the influence of agriculture on soil and water contamination by herbicide residues in a part of the Drava catchment area. The status of triazine herbicides - atrazine, simazine, prometrine and ametrine, and chlortoluron, isoproturon, dicamba, metolachlor, metamintron, terbuthylazine, MCPA and 2, 4-D was monitored in agricultural soil and water of this area in the conditions with or without regular application of herbicides. Amont the 206 plough layer samples analyzed, herbicides were detected in 50 samples (24%) with concentrations varying from 3-119 ng/g. The most frequently detected herbicides were triazine herbicides (atrazine and simazine) owing to their persistence as well as application frequency. The results indicate that, as a rule, alkaline or potentially alkaline herbicides persist longer in soil ; atrazine residues were found as late as 10 months after its application. Acid or potentially acid herbicides were not detected in soil even within one month of their application. Among the total number of analyzed samples of surface and ground watwers, the recorded herbicide concentrations exceeded the maximum allowable concentration, MAC, for single herbicides in drinking water (100 ng/l) in 42% of samples for atrazine, 23% for simazine, 9% for prometrine, 13% for ametrine, 24% for chlortoluron, 25% for isoproturon, 17% for dicamba, 60% for metolachlor, 20% for metamitron, while terbuthylazine, MCPA and 2, 4-D were not detected.

herbicides; soil; water; Drava catchment area

Rad je prezentiran na skupu VI. Alps-Adria Scientific Workshop, održanom 2007.g., Obervellach, Austrija.