• News
  • Lake Facts
  • About

Lake Scientist

Grass buffers ease subsurface movement of herbicide, study finds

0
  • by Dave Hochanadel
  • — April 26, 2010
Herbicide is distributed in the vicinity of the studied site.

Herbicide is distributed in the vicinity of the studied site.

While grass buffer strips are an effective means to reduce herbicide runoff from farm land, a new study shows they can actually increase the ease with which these chemicals move beneath the surface.

The results of the study, reported in the March / April 2010 edition of the Journal of Environmental Quality, came after two years of studying how three chemicals frequently used in herbicides were affected by grass buffer strips, which are common in agriculture because of the number of incentives, regulations, and laws that encourage their use.

Researchers from the University of Quebec and the Institute of Research and Development in Agri-Environment conducted the study. They assessed how much herbicide was transported both in surface runoff and subsurface infiltration during two growing seasons. Using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, they looked for the presence of the three herbicides — atrazine, metolachlor, and desethylatrazine.

The results after the first growing season showed there was a 35 percent reduction in surface herbicide levels at sites using buffer strips versus ones without any buffer. Herbicide concentrations in subsurface filtration, however, increased 800-1200 percent with buffer strips. The total concentration was still reduced by 40-60 percent.

The second year showed a similar trend, with grass buffer strips causing a 75-95 percent reduction in total herbicide concentration. In each year, the buffer strips successfully reduced the total amount of herbicides reaching surface waters, but the herbicides moved more freely beneath the surface.

The research was conducted by Emmanuelle Caron, Pierre Lafrance, Jean-Christian Auclair of the University of Quebec, and Marc Duchemin of the Institute of Research and Development in Agri-Environment.

Impact of Grass and Grass with Poplar Buffer Strips on Atrazine and Metolachlor Losses in Surface Runoff and Subsurface Infiltration from Agricultural Plots [The Journal of Environmental Quality] Image Credit: Courtesy of Pierre Lafrance

Share

You may also like...

  • Straw residue reduces nitrogen leaching
  • In light of Gulf oil spill, stronger Great Lakes drilling bans proposed
  • E coli bacteria Health investigators seek to uncover Singing Bridge Beach contamination culprit
  • Elâzığ, Turkey Research Brief: Zebra Mussels as Sentinel Species for Monitoring Microplastics

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

FishSens SondeCAM HD
  • Recent Posts

    • Remote Water Quality Monitoring with the Oklahoma Water Resources BoardOctober 2, 2023
    • Grand Lake St Marys, one of the sites where the drone-based sampling occurred.Research Brief: Characterizing Harmful Algal Blooms with Drone-Based Water SamplingSeptember 29, 2023
    • Research Brief: Influence of Climate Change and Anthropogenic Stressors on HABs in Zhanjiang BaySeptember 22, 2023
    • From the Tap: Source Water Monitoring for Public HealthSeptember 18, 2023
    • Red swamp crawfishResearch Brief: Using Red Swamp Crayfish as Bioindicators of Microplastic PollutionSeptember 15, 2023
  • Popular Tags

    Great Lakes research research summary pollution Lake Erie invasive species Product Spotlight Algae runoff international Lake Michigan nutrient-loading Ohio dissolved oxygen EPA research brief eutrophication temperature toxic waters climate change USGS ice phosphorus Asian Carp Michigan

©2023 Fondriest Environmental Inc. | Questions? Call 888.426.2151 or email customercare@fondriest.com