Pesticide Residues in Organic and Conventional Agricultural Soils across Europe: Measured and Predicted Concentrations

During the growing season of 2021, 201 soil samples from
conventionally
and organically managed fields from 10 European countries and 8 cropping
systems were taken, and 192 residues of synthetic pesticides were
analyzed. Pesticide residues were found in 97% of the samples, and
88% of the samples contained mixtures of at least 2 substances. A
maximum of 21 substances were found in conventionally managed fields,
and a maximum of 12 were found in organically managed fields. The
number and concentration of pesticide residues varied significantly
between conventional and organic fields in 70 and 50% of the case
study sites, respectively. Application records were available for
a selected number of fields (n = 82), and these records
were compared to the detected substances. Residues from 52% of the
applied pesticides were detected in the soils. Only 21% of the pesticide
residues detected in the soil samples were applied during the 2021
growing season. From the application data, predicted environmental
concentrations of residues in soil were calculated and compared to
the measured concentrations. These estimates turned out not to be
accurate. The results of this study show that most European agricultural
soils contain mixtures of pesticide residues and that current calculation
methods may not reliably estimate their presence.