Summary A laboratory study was carried out in order to measure the degradation rate of atrazine in 36 different soils taken from maize (Zea mays L.) fields in Belgium. These soils differed in their alrazme treatment histories. pH. organic matter content and type of organic and mineral fertili‐zation, Half‐lives of less than 10 days were found in more than 60% of the soils sampled. This rapid dissipation could be linked in a significant way to repeated pretreaiments with atrazine (intensive maize cropping) as well as to higher pH values (from neutral to alkaline), A low organic matter content might also be a factor explaining the rapid degradation of atrazine. but to a lesser extent than the first two factors. On the other hand mineral fertilization was shown to slow down atrazine dissipation. It is hypothesized that repeated treatments of atrazine cause a mi‐crobial adaptation to atrazine degradation and that acidic soil conditions impede this adaptation. To date, this is the first time that evidence for widespread accelerated degradation of atrazine has been reported.

:In surface soils, atrazine is considered to be a moderately persistent herbicide, with half-lives ranging generally from one to two months. In subsoils, however, its degradation is generally slower. This paper reports the degradation of atrazine in soil and subsoil samples taken from six Belgian maize üelds. Rapid degradation can take place in some samples taken from surface and in some from subsurface soils. Subsoil samples were found to degrade atrazine either very strongly or not at all. Experiments with [ring-U-14C] atrazine showed that the micro-organisms responsible for the rapid degradation cleave the triazine ring and extensively mineralize the molecule.

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Bedload dispersion is evaluated in gravel-bed rivers using slag elements from ironworks established along rivers in the Ardenne region, between the fourteenth and the nineteenth centuries. Large quantities of slag were dumped close to these rivers or even directly into the channels. For centuries, slag elements were dispersed in the bedload and transported by floods of varying importance. Consequently, slag may be considered as a reliable tracer to analyze bedload dispersion over several centuries. The size of slag elements was studied along 16 Ardenne rivers. The longitudinal size trend of the largest slag particles allows the effective competence of these rivers to be determined (between 19 and 129 mm for rivers where specific stream power for the bankfull discharge ranges between 20 and 134 W/m²). A direct relationship doesn't exist between these two parameters as the size of slag elements must be considered with regard to the D 50 of the bed. Selective transport was analyzed directly downstream of the input sites. The sorting distance varies from river to river and depends on the velocity of the coarse elements introduced into the river since the inception of the iron industry. Downstream of two metallurgic sites, the slag propagation fronts were located. As the periods of activity at these sites are known from historical studies, the virtual velocity of bedload movement in these rivers was estimated to be 2-4 km/century.

: A European-wide project has been undertaken to establish the potential for dissipation of atrazine in the soil subsurface environment. Samples were obtained, avoiding contamination, in four countries (Belgium, Greece, Hungary and UK) and laboratory studies carried out. In order to make comparisons between results from each laboratory, a ring experiment was carried out using common methodology for sampling, extraction and analytical techniques.Subsurface materials from each country were distributed to the other countries. Atrazine dissipation was determined in each country for all materials under the same laboratory conditions. The results of this comparative study showed generally good agreement between all laboratories. SigniÐcant potential microbiological dissipation was detected in certain samples. Where di †erences occurred between laboratories this was attributed to small, spatially heterogeneous microbial populations in the subsurface materials.