Premium
Comparison of environmental risks of pesticides between tropical and nontropical regions
Author(s) -
SanchezBayo Francisco,
Hyne Ross V
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
integrated environmental assessment and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.665
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1551-3793
pISSN - 1551-3777
DOI - 10.1002/ieam.189
Subject(s) - tropics , environmental science , pesticide , leaching (pedology) , surface runoff , volatilisation , soil water , environmental chemistry , agriculture , environmental protection , soil science , ecology , chemistry , biology , organic chemistry
A comparison of environmental risks of pesticides between tropical and nontropical regions has been performed, using data from the literature and modeling outputs based on the physicochemical properties of the compounds. With a few exceptions, the level of risk of exposure for most pesticides in tropical agriculture is similar to that in other climatic regions of the world. Generally, dissipation of pesticides increases under the warm and wet conditions of the tropics, with most of the dissipation occurring through hydrolysis in water and biological degradation in water and soil. High temperatures in the tropics also foster volatilization rates, whereas high precipitation and poor soils tend to increase losses into runoff and, for certain chemicals, affects their leaching behavior. The environmental risk is determined by a balance of soil types, soil organic carbon, pH, and the rates of degradation in the various environmental compartments. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2011;7:577–586. © 2011 SETAC