Reducing MCPA herbicide pollution at catchment scale using an agri-environmental scheme

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCassidy, Rachel
dc.contributor.authorJordan, Phil
dc.contributor.authorFarrow, Luke
dc.contributor.authorFloyd, Stewart
dc.contributor.authorMcRoberts, Colin
dc.contributor.authorMorton, Phoebe
dc.contributor.authorDoody, Donnacha
dc.date.accessioned2022-05-27T15:33:22Z
dc.date.available2022-05-27T15:33:22Z
dc.date.issued2022-05-20
dc.descriptionPublication history: Accepted - 16 May 2022; Published online - 20 May 2022.en_US
dc.description.abstractIn river catchments used as drinking water sources, high pesticide concentrations in abstracted waters require an expensive treatment step prior to supply. The acid herbicide 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) is particularly problematic as it is highly mobile in the soil-water environment following application. Here, an agri-environmental scheme (AES) was introduced to a large-scale catchment (384 km2) to potentially reduce the burden of pesticides in the water treatment process. The main measure offered was contractor application of glyphosate by weed wiping as a substitute for boom spraying of MCPA, supported by educational and advisory activities. A combined innovation applied in the assessment was, i) a full before-after-control-impact (BACI) framework over four peak application seasons (April to October 2018 to 2021) where a neighbouring catchment (386 km2) did not have an AES and, ii) an enhanced monitoring approach where river discharge and MCPA concentrations were measured synchronously in each catchment. During peak application periods the sample resolution was every 7 h, and daily during quiescent winter periods. This sampling approach enabled flow- and time-weighted concentrations to be established, and a detailed record of export loads. These loads were up to 0.242 kg km−2 yr−1, and over an order of magnitude higher than previously reported in the literature. Despite this, and accounting for inter-annual and seasonal variations in river discharges, the AES catchment indicated a reduction in both flow- and time-weighted MCPA concentration of up to 21% and 24%, respectively, compared to the control catchment. No pollution swapping was detected. Nevertheless, the percentage of MCPA occurrences above a 0.1 μg L−1 threshold did not reduce and so the need for treatment was not fully resolved. Although the work highlights the advantages of catchment management approaches for pollution reduction in source water catchments, it also indicates that maximising participation will be essential for future AES.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was carried out as part of Source to Tap (IVA5018), a project supported by the European Union's INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).en_US
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12518/437
dc.identifier.citationCassidy, R., Jordan, P., Farrow, L., Floyd, S., McRoberts, C., Morton, P. and Doody, D. (2022) ‘Reducing MCPA herbicide pollution at catchment scale using an agri-environmental scheme’, Science of The Total Environment. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156080.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0048-9697
dc.identifier.issn1879-1026 (electronic)
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156080
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.rights© 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).en_US
dc.subjectMCPAen_US
dc.subjectDrinking wateren_US
dc.subjectBefore-after-control-impacten_US
dc.subjectHerbicidesen_US
dc.subjectAgri-environmental schemeen_US
dc.subjectWater quality monitoringen_US
dc.titleReducing MCPA herbicide pollution at catchment scale using an agri-environmental schemeen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dcterms.dateAccepted2022-05-16
dcterms.dateSubmitted2022-03-28

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Reducing MCPA herbicide pollution at catchment scale using an agri-environmental scheme.pdf
Size:
2.65 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Final published version
Download

Collections

Journal Articles