The impact of copper-containing pesticides on ecological attributes and agricultural value of soils. The need for monitoring and assessment

Abstract

Copper-based pesticides have been used around the world for more than 200 years to control bacterial and fungal diseases in a variety of crops. In our review, we found that copper content from cupric fungicides in vineyard soil surface horizons often exceeds 200 mg/kg. However, there are few studies on copper content in vineyard soils in Russia. The fact of the matter is that soil microorganisms have greater metal sensitivity than plants. Therefore, the use of copper-based pesticides may damage microbial communities in vineyard soils and disrupt litter decomposition processes, thus leading to a long-term deterioration of ecological attributes and agricultural value of soils. It is this fact that makes the need for constant monitoring and assessment of the impact of copper-based pesticides on vineyard soils in Russia so paramount.