Pesticides are studied more than any other environmental contaminant, because their use worldwide in agriculture, and also in urban areas, results in the residues commonly found in the environment. The chemico-physical properties of pesticides influence their behaviour in the environment, and determine their interactions with inorganic and organic soil phases. The mobility and persistence of pesticides depend on chemical, physical and biological processes: sorption, plant uptake, volatilisation, wind erosion, run-off, leaching and chemical and microbial degradation. In order to limit pesticide environmental impact, it is strategic to improve knowledge of the different transport and degradation processes in soil and water that control their movement and fate in the environment.
The purpose of the session is to share knowledge of all those whose interests lie in the fate and behaviour of pesticides in the environment (soil, surface water, groundwater, air, vegetation, etc.). This session welcomes novel contributions on pesticide biodegradation processes; mitigation measures; micro- and field-scale processes in soil and water, including microbial and adsorption, desorption mechanisms; levels of pesticide residues in soil and water; fate modelling in the environment; effects of pesticides on non-target organisms; environmental risk assessment of pesticides; impacts of climate change on the fate and behaviour of pesticides. Early stage researchers are strongly encouraged to present their research.