Kurzfassung

Farmers protect crops from various pests to ultimately increase their yields by routinely apply chemical pesticides. These substances accidentally enter aquatic ecosystems during or following their application and have a high potential to affect aquatic life. Although associated risks are supposed to be considered during the authorisation processes, pesticides are among the main drivers for the deterioration of biodiversity and key ecosystem functions. In Sweden barely any study exists that...Farmers protect crops from various pests to ultimately increase their yields by routinely apply chemical pesticides. These substances accidentally enter aquatic ecosystems during or following their application and have a high potential to affect aquatic life. Although associated risks are supposed to be considered during the authorisation processes, pesticides are among the main drivers for the deterioration of biodiversity and key ecosystem functions. In Sweden barely any study exists that links pesticide exposure and ecological effects at the landscape level, a situation identified as a major research gap by relevant stakeholder. To close this gap, PRO-AQUA aims at a comprehensive evaluation of streams in the agriculturally heavily used south of Sweden. Thereby, the project will focus on the characterisation of the pesticides exposure pattern at several sites representing a gradient of expected pesticide contamination. This information will be connected to the community and functional shifts at the level of stream macroinvertebrates as well as microbes. The results of this project will directly inform about the protectiveness of the pesticide regulation as well as its protection goals at the national level. Hence, PRO-AQUA will be a first attempt to describe the current situation in Sweden and offers the opportunity to develop the Swedish society towards its environmental protection goals – in particular “a non-toxic environment”.» weiterlesen» einklappen