Predicting wetland contamination from atmospheric deposition measurements of pesticides in the Canadian Prairie Pothole region

Although it has been suggested that atmospheric deposition alone can result in detectable levels of pesticides in wetlands of the Pairie Pothole Region of Canada, this is the first field study to compare the masses of pesticides entering wetlands by atmospheric deposition with those concentrations of pesticides detected in the water-column of prairie wetlands. Weekly air and bulk deposition samples were collected from May 26th to Sept. 15th, 2008 at the Manitoba Zero Tillage Research Association (MZTRA) Farm, Brandon, Manitoba, with four on-site wetlands (approximate sizes 0.15–0.45 ha) monitored every second week. Twelve pesticides were detected in the air, with MCPA (one of the three pesticides applied on the farm in 2008 in addition to clopyralid and glyphosate), triallate, and γ-HCH being detected every week. Calculations were performed to predict wetland pesticide concentrations based on bulk deposits alone for those pesticides that had detectable concentrations in the bulk deposition samples (in order of the highest total seasonal deposition mass to the lowest): MCPA, glyphosate, 2,4-D, clopyralid, bromoxynil, atrazine, dicamba, metolachlor, and mecoprop. The estimated concentrations were closest to actual concentrations for MCPA (Pearson correlation coefficient’s = 0.91 to 0.98; p-values < 0.001) and predictions were also reasonable for a range of other herbicides, but a source other than atmospheric deposition was clearly relevant to detections of clopyralid in the wetland water-column. Although the types and levels of pesticides detected in the wetlands of the current study suggest that regional pesticide applications can contribute to pesticide surface water contamination following atmospheric transport and deposition, the greater frequency and concentrations of clopyralid, MCPA, and glyphosate detections in wetlands confirm that on-farm pesticide applications have a greater impact on on-site water quality. Beneficial management practices that reduce application drift, as well as rainfall or snowmelt runoff, will be important measures in reducing pesticide loading into wetlands situated in agricultural fields of the Prairie Pothole Region of North America.