Transportation pathways of pesticides in two major watersheds of Istanbul, Turkey

The study covers the investigation of pesticides in terms of consumption, toxicological classification and various intrinsic physical and chemical properties like DT50, KOC, GUS, solubility that describe the important mechanisms prevailing in soil, namely persistence and mobility. These mechanisms help to estimate the transportation pathways of pesticides on soil till they reach the receiving water after being applied on land. Classification is done in three groups, those likely to appear in surface flow, those that appear in groundwater and those that present transient conditions. Such an approach that also takes into account toxicological levels and annual consumption values of pesticides will act as a tool to prepare the priority list of pesticides that need special care during their transportation. The fate of pesticides is a difficult task to solve, however, such a methodology, puts forth a rough estimate on their behavior in spite of uncertainties in many of the parameters describing mechanisms like persistence and mobility. The agricultural areas of two watersheds of Istanbul are selected as target areas to describe the approach, which is also checked with another approach estimating pesticide pollution potential that considers various other properties of pesticides. Almost similar findings are depicted with 85% proximity. The methodology presented in the paper illustrates and emphasizes the significant role of pesticide properties in determining their fate in soil after being applied.