Abstract
Pesticide use is a major foundation of the agricultural intensification observed over the last few decades. As a result, soil contamination by pesticide residues has become an issue of increasing concern due to some pesticides' high soil persistence and toxicity to non-target species. In this study, the distribution of 76 pesticide residues was evaluated in 317 agricultural topsoil samples from across the European Union. The soils were collected in 2015 and originated from 11 EU Member States and 6 main cropping systems. Over 80% of the tested soils contained pesticide residues (25% of samples had 1 residue, 58% of samples had mixtures of two or more residues), in a total of 166 different pesticide combinations. Glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA, DDTs (DDT and its metabolites) and the broad-spectrum fungicides boscalid, epoxiconazole and tebuconazole were the compounds most frequently found in soil samples and the compounds found at the highest concentrations. These compounds occasionally exceeded their predicted environmental concentrations in soil but were below the respective toxic endpoints for standard in-soil organisms. Maximum individual pesticide content assessed in a soil sample was 2.05 mg kg−1 while maximum total pesticide content was 2.87 mg kg−1. This study reveals that the presence of mixtures of pesticide residues in soils are the rule rather than the exception, indicating that environmental risk assessment procedures should be adapted accordingly to minimize related risks to soil life and beyond. This information can be used to implement monitoring programs for pesticide residues in soil and to trigger toxicity assessments of mixtures of pesticide residues on a wider range of soil species in order to perform more comprehensive and accurate risk assessments.
Highlights
The presence and the concentration of multiple pesticide residues were analyzed in 317 topsoil samples; 300 agricultural topsoil samples were selected from the pool of topsoils collected during the Land Use/ Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) 2015 survey [see Toth et al, 2013 and Orgiazzi et al, 2018 for more information on LUCAS surveys] and 17 topsoil samples from Portuguese vineyards, where we were studying the transport of pesticide residues by surface runoff (Silva et al in prep)
The soils from the Southern European Union (EU) regions presented the lowest number of pesticide residues and the highest pesticide content
The available data on pesticide use in arable land and on permanent crops in EU countries indicate that southern countries apply more pesticides than countries from other EU regions (FAO, 2014)
Summary
In the European Union (EU), there are almost 500 active substances approved for use in pesticides (EC, 2018), with annual sales of 374,000 tons of pesticides [average data 2011–2016 for the EU-28; (EUROSTAT, 2018)]. Despite the benefits of pesticides on crop yields and of their relevance for the economy, intensive and widespread pesticide use raises serious environmental and health concerns. Soil contamination raises concerns on soil functions, soil biodiversity and food safety and on the off-site transport of contaminants via wind and water driven erosion. Such off-site transport may impair sink ecosystems functioning and represent aditional exposure routes to soil contaminants for humans and other non-target organisms (FAO and ITPS, 2017; Pérez and Eugenio, 2018)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
