RESUMEN
Pesticide losses to water can present problems for environmental management, particularly in catchments where surface waters are abstracted for drinking water supply. The relative role of different transfer pathways (spray drift, spills, overland flow and leaching from soils) is often uncertain, and there is a need for experimental observation and modelling to ensure that processes are understood under a range of conditions. Here we examine the transport of propyzamide and carbetamide in a small (15.5 ha) headwater sub-catchment dominated by an artificially drained field with strongly undulating topography (topographic gradients >1:10). Specifically, we explore the validity of the "field-scale lysimeter" analogy by applying the one dimensional mathematical model MACRO. Although one dimensional representation has been shown to be reasonable elsewhere, the scale and topography of the monitored system challenge many of the underlying assumptions. MACRO considers two interacting flow domains: micropores and macropores. The effect of subsurface drains can also be included. A component of the outflow from the main drain was identified as originating from an upslope permeable shallow aquifer which was represented using a simple groundwater model. Predicted herbicide losses were sensitive to drain spacing and the organic carbon to water partition coefficient, K(OC). The magnitude of the peak water and herbicide transport and their timing were simulated satisfactorily, although model performance was poor following a period of one month when snow covered the ground and precipitation was underestimated by the rain gauge. Total herbicide loads were simulated adequately by MACRO, suggesting that the field-scale lysimeter analogy is valid at this scale, although baseflow contributions to flow needed to be accounted for separately in order to adequately represent hydrological response.
Asunto(s)
Agua Subterránea , Herbicidas , Modelos Teóricos , Contaminantes Químicos del Agua , Contaminación Química del Agua , BenzamidasRESUMEN
Propyzamide and carbetamide are essential for blackgrass control in oilseed rape production. However, both of these compounds can contaminate surface waters and pose compliance problems for water utilities. The transport of propyzamide and carbetamide to an instrumented field drain in a small clay headwater tributary of the Upper Cherwell catchment was monitored over a winter season. Despite having very different sorption and dissipation properties, both herbicides were transported rapidly to the drain outlet in the first storm event after application, although carbetamide was leached more readily than propyzamide. A simple conceptual model was constructed to represent solute displacement from mobile pore water and preferential flow to drains. The model was able to reproduce the timing and magnitude of herbicide losses well, lending support to its conceptual basis. Measured losses in drainflow in the month following application were 1.1 and 8.1%, respectively, for propyzamide and carbetamide. Differences were due to a combination of differences in herbicide mobility and due to the fact that the monitoring period for carbetamide was hydrologically more active. For both compounds, losses were greater than those typically reported elsewhere for other herbicides. The data suggest that drainflow is the dominant pathway for the transfer of these herbicides to the catchment outlet, where water is abstracted for municipal supply. This imposes considerable constraints on the management options available to reduce surface water concentrations of herbicides in this catchment.