Pesticide bioaccumulation in epilithic biofilms as a biomarker of agricultural activities in a representative watershed

Abstract

Brazil is one of the largest consumers of pesticides in the world. The high rainfall rate and inadequate soil use and management promote the transfer of these compounds to the aquatic system. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify pesticides present in epilithic biofilms in order to evaluate the effectiveness of this matrix as a bioindicator able to discriminate areas and periods with different inputs of pesticides. Among the 25 pesticides analyzed in the biofilms, 20 compounds were detected. The epilithic biofilms picked up pesticides independent of their polarities, even in the period of lower use. The frequency and median concentration of five herbicides (2,4-D, atrazine, desethyl-atrazine, simazine, nicosulfuron), three fungicides (carbendazim, epoxiconazole, tebuconazole), and one insecticide (imidacloprid) were highest in biofilms sampled in summer crops during the growing period. Biofilms collected in the upper region of the catchment, where genetically modified soybean and corn cultivated in a no-tillage system prevail, the highest frequency and median concentration of three herbicides (2,4-D, thifensulfuron, isoproturon), four fungicides (carbendazim, epoxiconazole, tebuconazole, metconazole), and one insecticide (imidacloprid) were observed. Despite the excessive amounts of pesticides used in the catchment, the median values of all pesticides in the epilithic biofilm were considered low. The lower diversity and concentration of pesticides observed in the autumn/winter season is representative of lower use of pesticides, barriers to pesticide transfer from soil to water, and the biofilm's resilience capacity to decompose pesticides.

Urban-use pesticides in stormwater ponds and their accumulation in biofilms

“…Bioconcentration factors (BCFs) are valuable indices for comparing relative concentrations of pesticides in two matrices and for quantifying accumulation from ambient water. Recent studies have quantified the magnitudes of pesticide accumulation in biofilm (e.g., Mahler et al, 2020; Rheinheimer dos Santos et al, 2020), however only two other studes explored a similarly large set of pesticides and calculated bioconcentration factors (BCFs; Rooney et al, 2020; Ijzerman et al, 2023). Our study is the first to document pesticide BCFs in biofilm in a non-agricultural context.…”

Advancement of Metatranscriptomics towards Productive Agriculture and Sustainable Environment: A Review

“…Environmentally sustainable agriculture entails not only crop productivity but also environmental long-term preservation and sustainability. It is widely reported that the quality of the water and soil ecosystems have been dramatically declining lately, attributable to contaminations from industrial agriculture effluent [ 76 , 77 , 78 ]. Generally, pollution management in the water ecosystem is more complicated than the soil ecosystem, as water bodies are commonly exposed to various anthropogenic pollutants, hence complicating the identification of pollution sources [ 79 ].…”

Pesticides en viticulture

“…De par leur présence ubiquiste et leur capacité à bioaccumuler un large spectre de contaminants organiques (Huerta et al, 2015 ;Fernandes et al, 2020) Les biofilms offrent aussi de nombreux avantages, notamment le fait qu'ils sont présents dans les cours d'eau tout au long de l'année. Ainsi, grâce à leur exposition continue aux conditions prévalant dans les eaux, ils peuvent renseigner sur le niveau moyen de contamination pendant et hors périodes d'épandage (Rheinheimer dos Santos et al, 2020). De même, leur composition hétérogène apporte de nombreux sites de sorption pour une large gamme de contaminants (Flemming, 1995 ;Flemming et Wingender, 2010 ;Creusot et al, 2020).…”