Field and numerical study of chlorotoluron transport in the soil profile

Abstract

The transport of chlorotoluron in the soil profile under field conditions was studied. The herbicide Syncuran was applied on a four square meter plot using an application rate of 2.5 kg/ha active ingredient. Soil samples were taken after 119 days to study the residual chlorotoluron distribution in the soil profile. HYDRUS-1D (Šimunek et al. 1998) was used to simulate water movement and herbicide transport in the soil profile. Soil hydraulic properties and their variability were studied previously by Kutilek et al. (1989). The solute transport parameters, like the adsorption isotherm and the degradation rate, were determined in the laboratory. The Freundlich and Langmuir equations were used to fit the experimental data points of the adsorption isotherm, and the affect of each type of adsorption isotherm equation on the solute transport was studied. The chlorotoluron concentrations in soil water tended to be higher for the simulation performed with the Freundlich isotherm then that of the model using the Langmuir isotherm. In both cases, the solution did not pass a depth of 8 cm. The simulated chlorotoluron concentrations in soil samples were higher then the observed concentrations when the chlorotoluron degradation was assumed to be in soil water only. Assumption of the solute degradation in both in the solid and the liquid phase significantly improved the accuracy of the solution. The different characters of the simulated and observed chlorotoluron distributions can probably be attributed to the preferential flow of water and solute in the soil profile and by variability of the transport parameters.