Pesticide bioaccumulation in epilithic biofilms as a biomarker of agricultural activities in a representative watershed

Brazil is one of the largest consumers of pesticides in the world. The high rainfall rate and inadequate soil use and management promote the transfer of these compounds to the aquatic system. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify pesticides present in epilithic biofilms in order to eval...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental monitoring and assessment 2020-06, Vol.192 (6), p.381-381, Article 381
Main Authors: Rheinheimer dos Santos, Danilo, Monteiro de Castro Lima, José Augusto, Paranhos Rosa de Vargas, Jocelina, Camotti Bastos, Marilia, Santanna dos Santos, Maria Alice, Mondamert, Leslie, Labanowski, Jérôme
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
2,4-D
Agricultural management
Analytical chemistry
Aquatic environment
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Atrazine
Autumn
Bioaccumulation
Biofilms
Bioindicators
Biomarkers
Carbendazim
Catchment area
Chemical Sciences
Cultivation
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Ecotoxicology
Environment
Environment and Society
Environmental Management
Environmental monitoring
Environmental science
Environmental Sciences
Epoxiconazole
Fungicides
Genetic modification
Global Changes
Grain cultivation
Herbicides
Imidacloprid
Indicator organisms
Indicator species
Insecticides
Isoproturon
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Pesticides
Rain
Rainfall
Rainfall rate
Simazine
Soil
Soil contamination
Soil management
Soil water
Soils
Soybeans
Tebuconazole
Tillage
Watersheds
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Summary:Brazil is one of the largest consumers of pesticides in the world. The high rainfall rate and inadequate soil use and management promote the transfer of these compounds to the aquatic system. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify pesticides present in epilithic biofilms in order to evaluate the effectiveness of this matrix as a bioindicator able to discriminate areas and periods with different inputs of pesticides. Among the 25 pesticides analyzed in the biofilms, 20 compounds were detected. The epilithic biofilms picked up pesticides independent of their polarities, even in the period of lower use. The frequency and median concentration of five herbicides (2,4-D, atrazine, desethyl-atrazine, simazine, nicosulfuron), three fungicides (carbendazim, epoxiconazole, tebuconazole), and one insecticide (imidacloprid) were highest in biofilms sampled in summer crops during the growing period. Biofilms collected in the upper region of the catchment, where genetically modified soybean and corn cultivated in a no-tillage system prevail, the highest frequency and median concentration of three herbicides (2,4-D, thifensulfuron, isoproturon), four fungicides (carbendazim, epoxiconazole, tebuconazole, metconazole), and one insecticide (imidacloprid) were observed. Despite the excessive amounts of pesticides used in the catchment, the median values of all pesticides in the epilithic biofilm were considered low. The lower diversity and concentration of pesticides observed in the autumn/winter season is representative of lower use of pesticides, barriers to pesticide transfer from soil to water, and the biofilm’s resilience capacity to decompose pesticides.
ISSN:0167-6369
1573-2959
DOI:10.1007/s10661-020-08264-8