Evaluation of the ecological risk of pesticide residues from the European LUCAS Soil monitoring 2018 survey

Antonio Franco*, Diana Vieira, Laure Alix Clerbaux, Alberto Orgiazzi, Maeva Labouyrie, Julia Köninger, Vera Silva, Ruud van Dam, Edoardo Carnesecchi, Jean Lou C.M. Dorne, Jeanne Vuaille, Joana Lobo Vicente, Arwyn Jones

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

The 2018 LUCAS (Land Use and Coverage Area frame Survey) Soil Pesticides survey provides a European Union (EU)-scale assessment of 118 pesticide residues in more than 3473 soil sites. This study responds to the policy need to develop risk-based indicators for pesticides in the environment. Two mixture risk indicators are presented for soil based, respectively, on the lowest and the median of available No Observed Effect Concentration (NOECsoil,min and NOECsoil,50) from publicly available toxicity datasets. Two further indicators were developed based on the corresponding equilibrium concentration in the aqueous phase and aquatic toxicity data, which are available as species sensitivity distributions. Pesticides were quantified in 74.5% of the sites. The mixture risk indicator based on the NOECsoil,min exceeds 1 in 14% of the sites and 0.1 in 23%. The insecticides imidacloprid and chlorpyrifos and the fungicide epoxiconazole are the largest contributors to the overall risk. At each site, one or a few substances drive mixture risk. Modes of actions most likely associated with mixture effects include modulation of acetylcholine metabolism (neonicotinoids and organophosphate substances) and sterol biosynthesis inhibition (triazole fungicides). Several pesticides driving the risk have been phased out since 2018. Following LUCAS surveys will determine the effectiveness of substance-specific risk management and the overall progress toward risk reduction targets established by EU and UN policies. Newly generated data and knowledge will stimulate needed future research on pesticides, soil health, and biodiversity protection. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;00:1–15.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1639-1653
JournalIntegrated Environmental Assessment and Management
Volume20
Issue number5
Early online date11 Apr 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Keywords

  • Mixtures risk assessment
  • Pesticide monitoring
  • Pesticide residues
  • Risk indicator
  • Soil health

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