Climate change impacts the subsurface transport of atrazine and estrone originating from agricultural production activities

Abstract

Climate change will impact soil properties such as soil moisture, organic carbon and temperature and changes in these properties will influence the sorption, biodegradation and leaching of trace organic contaminants to groundwater. In this study, we conducted a modeling case study to evaluate atrazine and estrone transport in the subsurface under current and future climate conditions at a field site in central Nebraska. According to the modeling results, in the future, enhanced evapotranspiration and increased average air temperature may cause drier soil conditions, which consequently reduces the biodegradation of atrazine and estrone in the water phase. On the other hand, greater transpiration rates lead to greater root solute uptake which may decrease the concentration of atrazine and estrone in the soil profile. Another consequence of future climate is that the infiltration and leaching rates for both atrazine and estrone may be lower under future climate scenarios. Reduced infiltration of trace organic compounds may indicate that lower trace organic concentrations in groundwater may occur under future climate scenarios.

Impacts of Future Climate Variability on Atrazine Accumulation and Transport in Corn Production Areas in the Midwestern United States

“…In general, when the degradation rate is higher, climate variability has minimal impacts on the atrazine mass accumulation. Under a drier condition, reduced biodegradation of atrazine in the water phase is reported 34 and may exacerbate atrazine accumulation. Further studies on factors changing the atrazine degradation rate are suggested.…”

Dynamic Response of Soil Enzymes and Microbial Diversity to Continuous Application of Atrazine in Black Soil of a Cornfield without Rotation in Northeast China

“…However, this herbicide has harmful effects on sensitive crops such as wheat, soybean, and rice [4]. Atrazine is easily retained in the soil and readily leaches into the deeper soil with rain due to its long half-life and low soil Diversity 2021, 13, 259 2 of 17 absorption rate [5][6][7]. Jablonowski et al (2009) reported that atrazine and its degradation products were still detected in soils 22 years after its application [8].…”