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Pesticide residues in soils can cause negative impacts on soil health as well as soil biota. However, research related to the toxicity and exposure risks of pesticides to soil biota are scarce, especially in the North China Plain (NCP) where pesticides are intensively applied. In this study, the occurrence and distribution of 15 commonly used pesticides in 41 fields in Quzhou county in the NCP were determined during the growing season in 2020. The ecological risks of pesticides to the soil biota, including earthworms, enchytraeids, springtails, mites and nitrogen mineralization microorganisms, were assessed using toxicity exposure ratios (TERs) and risk quotient (RQ) methods. Based on pesticide detection rates and RQs, pesticide hazards were ranked using the Hasse diagram. The results showed that pesticides were concentrated in the 0–2 cm soil depth. Chlorantraniliprole was the most frequently detected pesticide with a detection rate of 37%, while the highest concentration of 1.85 mg kg−1 was found for carbendazim in apple orchards. Chlorpyrifos, carbendazim and imidacloprid posed a chronic exposure risk to E. fetida , F. candida and E. crypticus with the TERs exceeding the trigger value. Pesticide mixtures posed ecological risks to soil biota in 70% of the investigated sites. 47.5% of samples were ranked as high-risk, with the maximum RQ exceeding 490. According to the Hasse diagram, abamectin, tebuconazole, chlorantraniliprole and chlorpyrifos were ranked as the most hazardous pesticides for soil biota in the study region, indicating that alternative methods of pest management need to be considered. Therefore, practical risk mitigation solutions are recommended, in which the use of hazardous pesticides would be replaced with low-risk pesticides with similar functions from the Hasse diagram, or with biopesticides. [Display omitted] • Nearly half of samples showed high ecological risk to soil biota due to pesticides. • Eisenia fetida suffered exposure risk from multiple pesticides. • Higher ecological risks were found in apple and wheat-maize rotation fields. • A pesticide hazard ranking model was proposed based on the Hasse diagram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticides that have accumulated in arable soil could be easily transported by wind erosion, thereby potentially threating air quality and human health in surrounding areas. The risks this poses to farmers exposed to pesticide-associated dust is still unknown, especially in rural areas of China. In this study, we screened pesticide residues in dust (indoor and outdoor) collected from the homes and yards of pesticide sprayers (21 participants) and farm workers (14 participants) living in Quzhou County located in the North China Plain to assess health risks by exposed to pesticide-contaminated dust. The results showed that multiple pesticide residues were detected in the dust samples and more than 90% of the samples contained over 10 pesticide residues. The maximum detected number of residues was 23, out of the 25 pesticides currently used in the farming area. There was a wide range of pesticide concentrations with the geometric mean values measuring between 0.03 and 0.86 mg kg−1. More residues and higher concentrations of pesticides were detected in indoor dust compared to outdoor dust. Over the monitoring period, the pesticide application has not caused significant pesticide accumulation in dust. The measured concentrations of carbendazim, dimethomorph, dimethomorph and pendimethalin paired indoor-outdoor dust samples were significantly correlated (p < 0.05). The health risks were assessed using the hazard index (HI) and highest HI was found for children under indoor exposure (HI = 0.82). In addition, based on the survey and statistics, pesticide preparation in the home was significantly correlated with the pesticide indoor exposure level. Therefore, farmers should take measures, such as preparing pesticides outside of the house or in the open fields with protection, in order to avoid the exposure risk of pesticides associated with dust. [Display omitted] • Dust in pesticide sprayers' residences exhibits higher pesticide concentrations. • Higher accumulation levels of pesticides were found in indoor dust. • Health risks of pesticides in indoor dust should be aware especially for children. • Preparing pesticides inside homes contributes to indoor pesticide exposure risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Veterinary antibiotics reach the soil environment by manure application, where they accumulate or are prone to vertical translocation. We assumed that a high pH value at slightly calcareous soil properties should retain tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones even at high manure loads, whereas it should facilitate leaching of sulfonamides. Hence, we investigated the transport of manure-added antibiotics in a soil developed from calcareous parent material on a farm in peri-urban Beijing, China. Leachate was collected from zero-tension samplers, installed at 40cm depth under undisturbed soil, which was treated according to (i) routine farm practice and (ii) worst-case conditions (high antibiotic concentrations, irrigation imitating heavy rainfall). Additionally, the soil depth distribution of pharmaceuticals at the end of the leaching experiment was analysed. Under routine farm practice, sulfamethazine was repeatedly detected in the leachate with a maximum concentration of 0.12μgL−1. All applied substances were still detected in soil after 53days, suggesting that there was no overall rapid and complete dissipation. Worst-case conditions enhanced vertical translocation; all leachate samples contained sulfonamides (up to 653μgL−1 sulfamethazine), and even tetracyclines were found in the leachate once, with doxycycline reaching the highest concentration (0.19μgL−1). The concentrated simultaneous occurrence of sulfonamides with the bromide tracer in leachate samples pointed to preferential flow as underlying transport process. The high pH values did not prevent the single leaching event for tetracyclines and hardly affected overall leaching behaviour. The applied fluoroquinolones were not significantly translocated below 4cm depth, irrespective of irrigation and high manure addition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To assess the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in alpine grassland of the Tianshan Mountains in central Asia, CH4, CO2 and N2O fluxes were measured from June 2010 to May 2011. Nitrogen deposition tended to significantly increase CH4 uptake, CO2 and N2O emissions at sites receiving N addition compared with those at site without N addition during the growing season, but no significant differences were found for all sites outside the growing season. Air temperature, soil temperature and water content were the important factors that influence CO2 and N2O emissions at year-round scale, indicating that increased temperature and precipitation in the future will exert greater impacts on CO2 and N2O emissions in the alpine grassland. In addition, plant coverage in July was also positively correlated with CO2 and N2O emissions under elevated N deposition rates. The present study will deepen our understanding of N deposition impacts on GHG balance in the alpine grassland ecosystem, and help us assess the global N effects, parameterize Earth System models and inform decision makers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To assess the effects of nitrogen (N) deposition on greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes in alpine grassland of the Tianshan Mountains in central Asia, CH(4), CO(2) and N(2)O fluxes were measured from June 2010 to May 2011. Nitrogen deposition tended to significantly increase CH(4) uptake, CO(2) and N(2)O emissions at sites receiving N addition compared with those at site without N addition during the growing season, but no significant differences were found for all sites outside the growing season. Air temperature, soil temperature and water content were the important factors that influence CO(2) and N(2)O emissions at year-round scale, indicating that increased temperature and precipitation in the future will exert greater impacts on CO(2) and N(2)O emissions in the alpine grassland. In addition, plant coverage in July was also positively correlated with CO(2) and N(2)O emissions under elevated N deposition rates. The present study will deepen our understanding of N deposition impacts on GHG balance in the alpine grassland ecosystem, and help us assess the global N effects, parameterize Earth System models and inform decision makers., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)