A review of spatiotemporal patterns of neonicotinoid insecticides in water, sediment, and soil across China

Zhikun Liu; Leiming Zhang; Zulin Zhang; Lihui An; Rupert Hough; Peng Hu; Yi-Fan Li; Fuxiang Zhang; Shuang Wang; Yunqing Zhao; Yuxin Ke; Song Cui

doi:10.1007/s11356-022-21226-6

A review of spatiotemporal patterns of neonicotinoid insecticides in water, sediment, and soil across China

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Aug;29(37):55336-55347. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-21226-6. Epub 2022 Jun 4.

Authors

Zhikun Liu^{1

2}, Leiming Zhang³, Zulin Zhang⁴, Lihui An⁵, Rupert Hough⁴, Peng Hu⁶, Yi-Fan Li⁷, Fuxiang Zhang^{1

2}, Shuang Wang², Yunqing Zhao², Yuxin Ke^{1

2}, Song Cui^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, Heilongjiang, China.
² Research Center for Eco-Environment Protection of Songhua River Basin, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, Heilongjiang, China.
³ Air Quality Research Division, Science and Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, ON, M3H 5T4, Canada.
⁴ The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK.
⁵ State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China.
⁶ State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, China.
⁷ IJRC-PTS, State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China.
⁸ International Joint Research Center for Persistent Toxic Substances (IJRC-PTS), School of Water Conservancy and Civil Engineering, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, Heilongjiang, China. cuisong-bq@neau.edu.cn.
⁹ Research Center for Eco-Environment Protection of Songhua River Basin, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, Heilongjiang, China. cuisong-bq@neau.edu.cn.

PMID: 35665457
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-21226-6

Abstract

Neonicotinoid insecticides (NNIs) have been widely used to control insect pests, while their environmental residues and associated hazardous impacts on human and ecosystem health have attracted increasing attention worldwide. In this study, we examined the current levels and associated spatial and temporal patterns of NNIs in multiple environmental media across China. Concentrations of NNIs in surface water, sediment, and soil were in the range of 9.94-755 ng·L^-1, 0.07-8.30 ng·g^-1 DW, and 0.009-356 ng·g^-1 DW, respectively. The high levels of NNIs in surface water, such as in Yangtze River (755 ng·L^-1), North River (539 ng·L^-1), Nandu River (519 ng·L^-1), and Minjiang River (514 ng·L^-1), were dominated by imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid due to their extensive use. The levels of NNIs in sediments were relatively low, and the highest concentration (8.30 ng·g^-1 DW) was observed in Dongguan ditch. Sediment-water exchange calculated from fugacity fraction indicated that NNIs in sediment can be released back into the water due to their high solubility and low K_OW. Soils from agricultural zones contained the largest residual NNIs, with imidacloprid concentrations in cultivated soil reaching 119 ng·g^-1 DW. The calculated leaching potential showed that clothianidin has the highest migration potential to deep soil or groundwater. The monitored data of NNIs presented a decreasing trend from 2016 to 2018, which might be caused by the implementation of relevant control policies for NNI applications. The high levels of NNIs mainly occurred in southern China due to frequent agricultural activities and warm and humid meteorological conditions. The results from this study improve our understanding of the pollution levels and environmental behavior of NNIs in different environmental media across China and provide new knowledge that is needed for making future control policies for NNIs production and application.

Keywords: Leaching potential; Neonicotinoid insecticides; Sediment–water exchange; Spatiotemporal distributions.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

China
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Insecticides* / analysis
Neonicotinoids / analysis
Soil
Water / chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

Insecticides
Neonicotinoids
Soil
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding