Land use effects on pesticides in sediments of prairie pothole wetlands in North and South Dakota

Science of the Total Environment
By: , and 

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Abstract

Prairie potholes are the dominant wetland type in the intensively cultivated northern Great Plains of North America, and thus have the potential to receive pesticide runoff and drift. We examined the presence of pesticides in sediments of 151 wetlands split among the three dominant land use types, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), cropland, and native prairie, in North and South Dakota in 2011. Herbicides (glyphosate and atrazine) and fungicides were detected regularly, with no insecticide detections. Glyphosate was the most detected pesticide, occurring in 61% of all wetlands, with atrazine in only 8% of wetlands. Pyraclostrobin was one of five fungicides detected, but the only one of significance, being detected in 31% of wetlands. Glyphosate was the only pesticide that differed by land use, with concentrations in cropland over four-times that in either native prairie or CRP, which were equal in concentration and frequency of detection. Despite examining several landscape variables, such as wetland proximity to specific crop types, watershed size, and others, land use was the best variable explaining pesticide concentrations in potholes. CRP ameliorated glyphosate in wetlands at concentrations comparable to native prairie and thereby provides another ecosystem service from this expansive program.

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Land use effects on pesticides in sediments of prairie pothole wetlands in North and South Dakota
Series title Science of the Total Environment
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.04.209
Volume 565
Year Published 2016
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Description 8 p.
First page 682
Last page 689
Country United States
State North Dakota, South Dakota
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