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In this study, we assessed the sorption, dissipation, and leaching of the herbicide mesotrione in soil amended with fresh and field-aged biochars, when added to the soil. The aging process was performed by burying the fresh biochar at 10 cm depth in three soils located in different points across the USA [Wisconsin (ABC_WI), Idaho (ABC_ID), and South Carolina (ABC_SC)] for six months. ABC_ID and ABC_SC slightly increased the sorption of mesotrione in soils, whereas ABC_WI removed greater amounts of herbicide from the solution. This was attributed to differences in water-soluble components and metal content of this aged biochar. Consequently, the persistence of the herbicide in the amended soils with fresh biochar and ABC_ID and ABC_SC were similar to that in unamended soils, while ABC_WI slightly increased mesotrione half-life. Differences between treatments were detected in leaching studies although no direct relationship with the dissipation batch studies was observed. Mesotrione leaching could not be detected in soil columns amended with ABC_WI and was high for the rest of treatments. The outcomes from this work demonstrate that temporal variability of biochar sorption capacities due to soil exposure can occur altering mesotrione’s behavior in biochar-amended soils.

Abstract. Changes in sorption/bioavailability of two metabolites, imidacloprid-urea {1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)methyl]-2-imidazolidinone} and imidacloprid-guanidine {1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)methyl]-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-amine} of the insecticide imidacloprid {1-[(6-chloro-3-pyridinyl)-methyl]-N-nitro-2-imidazolidinimine} with aging in different soils were determined. Soil moisture was adjusted to -33 kPa and ¹⁴C- and analytical-grade imidacloprid-urea and imidacloprid-guanidine were added to the soil at a rate of 1.0 mg kg^-1. Spiked soils were incubated at 25°C for 8 weeks. Replicate soil samples were periodically extracted successively with 0.01 N CaCl₂, acetonitrile, and 1 N HCl. Imidacloprid-urea sorption, as indicated by sorption coefficient values, was highest in the soil with highest organic C content, and increased by an average factor of 2.6 in three soils during the 8-week incubation period. Imidacloprid-guanidine sorption increased by a factor of 2.3 in the same soils. The increase in sorption was the result of a decrease in the metabolite extractable with CaCl₂ (solution phase); the amount of metabolite extractable with acetonitrile and HCl (sorbed phase) did not significantly change with incubation time. It appears the increase in sorption was because the rate of degradation in solution and on labile sites was faster than the rate of desorption from the soil particles. It may have also been due to metabolite diffusion to less accessible or stronger binding sites with time. Regardless of the mechanism, these results are further evidence that increases in sorption during pesticide aging should be taken into account during characterization of the sorption process for mathematical models of pesticide degradation and transport.

Changes in sorption of the insecticide imidacloprid (1‐[(6‐chloro‐3‐pyridinyl)‐methyl]‐N‐nitro‐2‐imidazolidinimine) with aging in three soils have been determined. Soil moisture was adjusted to −33 kPa and 14C‐ and analytical‐grade imidacloprid added to the soil at a rate of 1.0 mg kg−1. Imidacloprid‐spiked soils were incubated at 25°C for 16 wk. Replicate soil samples were periodically extracted successively with 0.01 MCaCl2, acetonitrile, and 1 MHCI. Sorption, as indicated by the sorption coefficient (Kd) values, was highest in the soil with highest organic C content, and increased by an average factor of 2.8 in the three soils during the incubation period. This increase was the result of a decrease in the imidacloprid extractable with CaCl2(solution phase) and the increase in the amount of imidacloprid extractable with acetonitrile and HCI (sorbed phase) with incubation time. It is not known whether the increase in sorption was the result of imidacloprid diffusion to less accessible or stronger binding sites with time, a rate of degradation in solution and on labile sites that is faster than the rate of desorption, or a combination of the two processes. These results are, however, further evidence that increases in sorption during pesticide aging should be taken into account during characterization of the sorption process for mathematical models of pesticide leaching.