Atrazine mineralisation rates in New Zealand soils are affected by time since atrazine exposure
J. Aislabie A D , D. Hunter A , J. Ryburn A , R. Fraser A , G. L. Northcott B and H. J. Di CA Landcare Research, Private Bag 3127, Hamilton, New Zealand.
B Food Sector, HortResearch, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand.
C Center for Soil and Environmental Research, PO Box 84, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.
D Corresponding author. Email: aislabiej@landcareresearch.co.nz
Australian Journal of Soil Research 42(7) 783-792 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR03096
Submitted: 30 May 2003 Accepted: 14 May 2004 Published: 12 November 2004
Abstract
To understand more clearly the groundwater contamination potential of herbicides applied to New Zealand soils, experimental field plots were established on 2 different soil types: Himatangi, a sandy dune soil, and Kiripaka, a silty clay derived from basalt. A mix of triazine herbicides, containing atrazine, terbuthylazine, and hexazinone, was applied to the plots at 10 kg a.i./ha. At various times after application, soil was removed from the plots and analysed for residual levels of herbicides, in vitro rates of mineralisation of 14C-ring-labelled atrazine, and numbers of atrazine-degrading microbes. Atrazine and terbuthylazine were below detectable levels (<0.01 mg/kg) in Himatangi topsoil 18 months after pesticide application but still detectable in topsoil from the Kiripaka site. Hexazinone was detectable in topsoil from both soil plots 18 months after application. Atrazine adsorption isotherms were constructed for topsoil and subsoil from both plots, with estimated Kf values ranging from 0.53 to 4.69 μg1–n mLn/g. A single application of atrazine was sufficient to enhance the rate of 14C-atrazine mineralisation in vitro by topsoil from both plots, and subsoil from the Kiripaka site. Rates of mineralisation of atrazine in the soil from the plots increased 1–6 months after pesticide application and remained elevated for 18–24 months. The numbers of atrazine degraders detected did not correlate with atrazine mineralisation rates. An atrazine-degrading bacterium, identifed as Arthrobacter nicotinovorans, was isolated from Himatangi soil exhibiting enhanced rates of atrazine-mineralisation activity.
Additional keywords: microbial degradation, New Zealand, topsoil, subsoil.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, New Zealand (C09X0017). We thank Malcolm McLeod (Landcare Research) for provision of soils information, Dr Graham Sparling (Landcare Research) for helpful discussions during preparation of this manuscript, and Dr David Saul (University of Auckland) for 16S rDNA sequence analysis of the atrazine-degrading bacterium. Mr Greg Arnold, Biometrician, Landcare Research, provided advice on data presentation and analysis.
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