Effect of the Nature of Exogenous Organic Matter on Pesticide Sorption by the Soil

Abstract.

A study was carried out on the sorption of two sparingly water-soluble pesticides (diazinon and linuron) by a sandy loam soil modified with different exogenous organic materials (EOMs) containing humic-like substances: city refuse compost (CRC), peat (P), commercial “humic” acid (HA), liquid “humic” acid (LHA), and two (nonhumic) model compounds (surfactants), tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TDTMA) and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), before and after 2- and 8-month incubation periods with the soil. In all cases, the isotherms fitted the Freundlich sorption equation (x/m = KC _e ⁿ ), generally with r ² values greater than 0.99. The value of the sorption constant K for the natural soil was 8.81 for diazinon and 2.29 for linuron. These values increased significantly for EOM modified soils with respect to natural soil, with the exception of the samples modified with SDS and LHA, in which cases they decreased, possibly due to the micellar properties of these compounds. Incubation of EOMs with soil increased their sorption capacity: the K _oc values were increased proportionally to the incubation time for both pesticides and for all treatments carried out. Accordingly, the sorption capacity of hydrophobic pesticides increases with the degree of evolution in the soil of EOMs with “humic”-type compounds, possibly due, among other causes, to the increase in the EOMs' colloidal properties and the modifications occurring in the hydrophobic-hydrophilic characteristics of the soil surfaces. The main conclusion is that application to the soil of carbon-rich wastes, especially those with a high degree of maturity, may offer an important strategy for reducing pesticide leaching and for eliminating pesticide residues from soil with the use of anionic surfactants.