Evidence for filtering capabilities of grass buffer strips: key parameters favoring natural attenuation of pesticides in vineyard area
2011
Martin-Laurent , Fabrice (INRA , Dijon (France). UMR 1229 Microbiologie du Sol et de l'Environnement) | Devers-Lamrani , Marion (INRA , Dijon (France). UMR 1229 Microbiologie du Sol et de l'Environnement) | Rouard , Nadine (INRA , Dijon (France). UMR 1229 Microbiologie du Sol et de l'Environnement) | Pesce , Stéphane (Cemagref, Lyon(France). UR QELY)
Vineyard is among the crops the most heavily treated with pesticides. In the context of the new EU policy for the protection of water resources, vineyard area will account as one of the major contributor to water contamination. Grass buffer strips have recently been developed as a solution for reducing pesticide transfer by surface runoff from vineyard parcels to adjacent streams. Although pesticide interception by grass strips has generally been proven effective, little is known about the fate of intercepted pesticides. In order to tackle this question we worked since several years at the scale of a small watershed located in the Beaujolais vineyard (France). The ability of the soil microflora to degrade diuron, an herbicide belonging to phenyl-urea family, was addressed by radiorespirometric analyses showing that the grass buffer strip could develop efficient degrading ability if regularly exposed to the contaminant1. Interestingly, we revealed the presence of bacterial populations able to rapidly mineralize this herbicide in the grass buffer strips. We also showed that their genetic potential (puhA and puhB genes) could be transferred by erosion to the sediment of the river adjacent to the grass buffer strip2. With the aim to promote natural attenuation of pesticides in the grass buffer strip, bioaugmentation experiments with diuron-degrading bacterial populations are ongoing. All these data seem to indicate that the development of a second generation of engineered grass buffer strip acting as an ‘in field bioreactor’ favoring pesticide biodegradation could represent an interesting tool to protect water resources in the vineyard area.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Institut national de la recherche agronomique
