Using electromagnetic induction technology to identify atrazine leaching potential at field scale

Author(s)

de Oliveira, Luciano Alves ^[1] ; Woodbury, Bryan L. ^[2] ; de Miranda, Jarbas Honorio ^[1] ; Stromer, Bobbi S. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr ESALQ USP, Dept Biosyst Engn, Av Padua Dias 11 LEB ESALQ USP, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] USDA ARS, US Meat Anim Res Ctr, POB 166, Clay Ctr, NE 68933 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Geoderma; v. 375, OCT 1 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Atrazine is an herbicide commonly used to control weeds in corn crop. Atrazine becomes an environmental concern when it moves off-site to surface and ground waters. Understanding how atrazine moves in the field is important for developing management controls. Electromagnetic induction (EMI) has been used to map certain contaminant transport at the field scale. This study was developed to evaluate the efficacy of EMI technology for identifying surface soil atrazine concentration in a corn crop field. The research was conducted in a corn silage field with silt, clay and loam soils at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC), Clay Center, NE - USA, and it was divided in three stages; i) EMI data collection and a response surface sampling design for collection of bulk soils and soil core samples, ii) atrazine transport parameters were obtained by Breakthrough Curves using the bulk soil and numerical adjustments using STANMOD (HYDRUS package), and iii) Modeling atrazine parameters through EMI signal data with posterior atrazine's movement simulations through the soil using HYDRUS 2D. Atrazine's retardation factor, partition coefficient, and transfer coefficient were strongly correlated with EMI signal exhibiting a strong correlation with apparent electrical conductivity (ECa). The low values for RMSE and RRMSE and the high values for Willmott and Pearson coefficients indicate EMI technology can be used to predict atrazine movement parameters. HYDRUS 2D quantitatively simulates the atrazine concentration leaching and how the temporal scale of this contamination would be. Combining EMI technology with HYDRUS 2D modeling provides researcher with additional information for developing better management practices for controlling atrazine movement to surface water; however, further studies are needed determine the effectiveness of this approach for other soil types. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/07443-6 - HYDRUS 2D simulation of atrazine movement in tropical and temperate soils under maize cultivation
• Grantee: Luciano Alves de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/01915-6 - Hydrus 2D simulation of atrazine movement in tropical and temperate soils under corn cultivation
• Grantee: Luciano Alves de Oliveira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 18/10164-4 - Simulation of atrazine, nitrate, phosphorus, and potassium dynamics in unsaturated soils using the Hydrus software
• Grantee: Jarbas Honorio de Miranda
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants