Mineralization of plant-incorporated residues of 14C-isoproturon in arable soils originating from different farming systems

14C-isoproturon residues were incorporated in wheat plants by growing seedlings for 18 days in quartz sand with nutrient solution which was treated with ring-labeled 14C-isoproturon, resulting in 14C-concentration equivalent to 15.4 nmol isoproturon per g dry shoot mass. The residues were characterized by extraction and HPLC-analysis, and were shown to consist of unchanged isoproturon, soluble metabolites (monodemethyl-isoproturon, didemethyl-isoproturon, 1-OH-isoproturon, 2-OH-isoproturon, 2-OH-monodemethyl-isoproturon, 2-OH-didemethyl-isoproturon, isopropenyl-isoproturon and unidentified metabolites), as well as nonextractable residues. Dried plant samples containing these residues were mixed with soil samples originating from different farming systems, and mineralization to 14CO2 was determined in a closed aerated laboratory system. In addition, the microbial biomass and bioactivity of soils were estimated by determination of substrate-induced heat output, basal heat output, metabolic heat quotient, total adenylate content and adenylate energy charge. Significant positive correlations between 14CO2 production or adenylate content and microbial biomass were observed in three soils; 14CO2 production and total microbial biomass were highest in soil samples from organic farming. Soil samples from a former hops plantation contaminated with copper from previous fungicide applications did not fit this correlation, but exhibited a higher mineralization capacity per unit of microbial biomass. Our results indicate that general soil microbial parameters in many cases are insufficient to describe the influence of biotic factors on the fate of pesticides in soil.