Pesticide Monitoring along Altitudinal Gradients in the Vinschgau Valley in South Tyrol, Italy
Study Description
Pesticide water monitoring has been extensively conducted for years as part of the EU Water Framework Directive. However, data on currently used pesticides in terrestrial matrices is scarce and limited to few studies. Hence, we developed a unique study design recording pesticides in soil and vegetation on a landscape scale along 11 altitudinal transects in the Vinschgau valley in South Tyrol, Italy. There, in the middle of the Alps apple growing is practiced with high intensity and associated use of pesticides is very high.
Initial surveys have shown that the drift caused by wind in the valley may be responsible for an immense spread of pesticides that have been found in playgrounds as well as in glaciers in nearby mountains. So far, it is not known whether the pesticides also reach the alpine meadows in-between. Especially for the organic farmers, pesticide residues found in their hay and herbs threaten their income and existence. Due to their altitude profile, climate and management without fertilization, the Alps represent a unique ecosystem, which is therefore rich in plants and insect life.
In connection with a final thesis of a student in the field of ecotoxicology at the University of Koblenz-Landau, the question about the distribution pattern of pesticides on a landscape scale will be investigated.
Together with students from the course “ETX1 Modules in Ecotoxicology” we took samples of soil, vegetation and insects along 11 transects. This gave the others in the course the opportunity to gain practical fieldwork experience, talk to locals about diverse problems arising from increasing intensity of apple cultivation, get first-hand information and at the same time contribute to a pioneering study.
Transects extended between valley bottom at approximately 1000 m to higher elevation mountain areas at over 2000 m with a sample intervals of 300 m altitude. At each sampling point one composite sample consisting of 25 subsamples was taken of the upper soil layer (5 cm). Thus, an exact and representative statement about the qualitative presence of pesticides can be made. Diverse vegetation was sampled by hand picking and insects were caught with nets from shrubs and grasses. The precise, clean work and decontamination of the equipment after each work step could be practiced by the students.
Samples were analysed for 100 pesticides by HPLC-MS/MS at the laboratory in Landau. The results will allow to demonstrate a unique landscape scale exposure pattern of pesticides in a mountainous landscape.