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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Water Quality and Ecology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #112927
Title: PESTICIDE MITIGATION CAPACITIES OF CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS

Author
item Moore, Matthew
item Cooper, Charles
item Smith Jr, Sammie

Submitted to: Sustainability of Wetlands and Water Resources Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/1999
Publication Date: 5/30/2000
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In response to the growing concern over agricultural pesticide runoff effects on flora and fauna of receiving water bodies, recent research has focused on potential management practices to minimize such effects. One such suggestion is the use of constructed wetlands along field perimeters to buffer receiving lakes, rivers, and streams against potential effects of agricultural pesticides associated with storm water runoff. The current study incorporated wetland mesocosm sampling following simulated storm runoff events using chlorpyrifos (insecticide), atrazine (herbicide), and metolachlor (herbicide). Through this data collection, in addition to simple model analysis, reseachers were able to conservatively predict wetland buffer travel distances necessary to effectively mitigate potential detrimental pesticide effects on receiving flora and fauna. Effective mitigation was determined by establishing an acceptable ecological threshold concentration for each pesticide. Suggested wetland travel distances ranged from 100 - 400 m for the three pesticides. This research provides fundamental answers concerning the use of constructed wetlands for pesticide mitigation in agricultural watersheds.