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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Development and dissemination to operational stakeholders of integrative tools for chemical and biological measurements in watercourses to monitor the impact of pesticides according to agricultural practices and their evolution

subject

description

The results of the Impact-CE project highlight the specific contribution of various integrative tools to have a more complete vision of the chemical and biological impact of pesticides on watercourses. In addition to grabe sampling, which gives a quantitative and instantaneous view of contamination, these tools provide more representative information over time, which makes them better tools for prioritising basins that contribute to contamination. They are also more robust for reporting interannual changes in agricultural practices, even if it may remain difficult to dissociate the effect of limited changes in practices from that of significant climatic variations. The results also confirm that, thanks to their accumulation capacity, passive samplers can reveal trace substances that are not seen by grabe measurements, such as degradation products, or that are only mobilised during floods. They also show the added value of both chemical and biological information in order to refine the impact diagnosis, highlight possible causes and provide additional information in terms of biodiversity and functioning of ecosystems. Interviews conducted with operational actors during the project show that it is essential that these tools be better known and appropriated by field managers, through training and support.