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Simulation by the IPTM-CS model of pesticides found in surface water and groundwater of the Fucino Plain, Italy

EVA PACIONI¹, MARCO PETITTA¹ & MIGUEL A. MARIÑO²

1 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Roma “La Sapienza”, P. le Aldo Moro 5, Roma, Italy

marco.petitta@uniroma1.it

2 Hydrology Program and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Davis, California 95616, USA

Abstract The agricultural area of the Fucino Plain, Italy, has recently had a transition to intensive agriculture characterized by increased horticultural production with a double or sometimes a triple harvest, and accompanied by high water demand and wide use of pesticides. Water sampling conducted in 2004 and 2006 showed the presence of pesticides, mainly Linuron, Dicloran and Carbaryl. By taking into account pesticide application, irrigation practice, rainfall, evapotranspiration and soil characteristics, mathematical simulations were conducted using the IPTM-CS pesticide transport model. The aim of the simulations is to verify if measured pesticide concentrations agree with a conceptual model based on the amount of pesticide application and its transport into the water system by runoff or infiltration. Simulations of Linuron, the use of which has been banned in Italy since 2005, showed a higher persistence. This pesticide is mobilized partly by runoff, while infiltration rates allow its transport to shallow groundwater in concentrations up to the limits specified by law.

Key words mathematical models; pesticides; runoff; unsaturated zone; groundwater pollution; Italy

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