CURRENT UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE - AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE RESEARCH ON UNDERSTANDING AGROCHEMICAL FATE AND TRANSPORT TO PREVENT AND MITIGATE ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Authors: Hapeman, Cathleen; McConnell, Laura; Rice, Clifford; Sadeghi, Ali; Schmidt, Walter; McCarty, Gregory; Starr, James; Rice, Pamela; Angier, Jonathan; Harman Fetcho, Jennifer

Submitted to: Pest Management Science
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/18/2003
Publication Date: 6/1/2003
Citation: Cathleen J. Hapeman, Laura L. McConnell, Clifford P. Rice, Ali M. Sadeghi, Walter F. Schmidt, Gregory W. McCarty, James L. Starr, Pamela J. Rice, Jonathan T. Angier and J. A. Harman-Fetcho Current United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service research on understanding agrochemical fate and transport to prevent and mitigate adverse environmental impacts Submitted to Pest Management Science Accepted by Journal: 2/18/2003 Published: 59:681-690.

Interpretive Summary: Environmentally and economically viable agriculture requires a variety of cultivation practices and pest management options as no one system will be appropriate for every situation. Agrochemicals are some of the many pest control tools in an integrated approach to pest management. Agrochemicals are applied with the intent of maximizing efficacy while minimizing off-site movement; however, their judicious use demands a practical knowledge of their fate and effects in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Agrochemical distribution into the various environmental compartments is influenced by the physical and chemical properties of the agrochemical and the matrix components. Much of the current ARS agrochemical research focuses on elucidating these interactions and processes so that more environmentally-relevant biota exposure potentials can be determined for soil-, water-, and air-borne agrochemical residues and appropriate management strategies developed. Results from ARS research concerning the environmental fate and effects of agrochemicals has led to the development of science-based management practices that will protect vulnerable areas of the ecosystem. The new challenge is to identify these vulnerable areas and the temporal and spatial variabilities prior to use of the chemical by predicting how it will behave in the environmental matrices, and using that information, predict its transport and transformation within an air- or watershed. With the development of better predictive tools and GIS (Geographic Information System) based-modeling, the risks of agricultural management systems can be assessed at the watershed and basin levels, and management strategies can be identified that maximize environmental benefits.

Technical Abstract: Environmentally and economically viable agriculture requires a variety of cultivation practices and pest management options as no one system will be appropriate for every situation. Agrochemicals are some of the many pest control tools in an integrated approach to pest management. Agrochemicals are applied with the intent of maximizing efficacy while minimizing off-site movement; however, their judicious use demands a practical knowledge of their fate and effects in agricultural and natural ecosystems. Agrochemical distribution into the various environmental compartments is influenced by the physical and chemical properties of the agrochemical and the matrix components. Much of the current ARS agrochemical research focuses on elucidating these interactions and processes so that more environmentally-relevant biota exposure potentials can be determined for soil-, water-, and air-borne agrochemical residues and appropriate management strategies developed. Results from ARS research concerning the environmental fate and effects of agrochemicals has led to the development of science-based management practices that will protect vulnerable areas of the ecosystem. The new challenge is to identify these vulnerable areas and the temporal and spatial variabilities prior to use of the chemical by predicting how it will behave in the environmental matrices, and using that information, predict its transport and transformation within an air- or watershed. With the development of better predictive tools and GIS (Geographic Information System) based-modeling, the risks of agricultural management systems can be assessed at the watershed and basin levels, and management strategies can be identified that maximize environmental benefits.