Glyphosate concentrations in global freshwaters: are aquatic organisms at risk?

Abstract

Glyphosate is the most used herbicide worldwide. Many studies have reported glyphosate risks to aquatic organisms of different trophic levels. Moreover, evidence suggests flaws in countries' legislation that may imply the non-protection of aquatic species exposed to glyphosate. Therefore, we aimed to investigate glyphosate concentrations in freshwater ecosystems worldwide based on a systematic literature review, to discuss the results considering each country's legislation, and to assess the relative tolerance and risk for aquatic species. Only articles providing in situ concentrations of glyphosate in freshwater systems were included in our study. In total, 73 articles met the inclusion criteria and were used in our analysis. The studies comprised freshwater ecosystems from 21 countries. Most countries evaluated (90%) did not have restrictive legislation for aquatic glyphosate concentrations, resulting in a potential non-protection of aquatic organisms. Glyphosate may pose a moderate to high risk in 95% of the countries investigated, reaching a maximum concentration of 105 mg L-1. Additionally, the risk analysis showed that glyphosate concentrations below 0.1 μg L-1 represent a low risk, whereas glyphosate concentrations above 1 μg L-1, which is below the limit established by some countries' legislation, represent a high risk to aquatic organisms. Therefore, we strongly recommend a revision of the countries' legislation for glyphosate concentration in freshwater systems.