Fungicides
are indispensable to global food security and their
use is forecasted to intensify. Fungicides can reach aquatic ecosystems
and occur in surface water bodies in agricultural catchments throughout
the entire growing season due to their frequent, prophylactic application.
However, in comparison to herbicides and insecticides, the exposure
to and effects of fungicides have received less attention. We provide
an overview of the risk of fungicides to aquatic ecosystems covering
fungicide exposure (i.e., environmental fate, exposure modeling, and
mitigation measures) as well as direct and indirect effects of fungicides
on microorganisms, macrophytes, invertebrates, and vertebrates. We
show that fungicides occur widely in aquatic systems, that the accuracy
of predicted environmental concentrations is debatable, and that fungicide
exposure can be effectively mitigated. We additionally demonstrate
that fungicides can be highly toxic to a broad range of organisms
and can pose a risk to aquatic biota. Finally, we outline central
research gaps that currently challenge our ability to predict fungicide
exposure and effects, promising research avenues, and shortcomings
of the current environmental risk assessment for fungicides.
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