Pesticide transport during erosive rainfall-runoff events

Summary

Plant protection products, also known as pesticides, pose a threat to our environment when they are transported to off-target areas. Transport of pesticides with runoff water and eroding soil from agricultural fields can contribute to the pollution of downstream areas. In this research the amount of pesticides transported from agricultural fields in a small catchment in the Netherlands was quantified. The results show that during peak runoff eroding sediment can contribute a lot to transport of pesticides, and that concentrations in runoff are high. Based on this data a new model was developed (OpenLISEM-pesticide) that simulates the transport dynamics of pesticides during erosive rainfall-runoff events. The simulation results correspond with the observed data, although the uncertainty in the predictions is still high. This thesis emphasizes that assessment of pesticide transport into the environment should take into account the highly dynamic processes during runoff events.