Assess pesticides and fertiliser residuals in the wetland ecosystem

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The quality of wetland water is important to sustain life. Overpopulation and land encroachment is degrading the water quality. In this scenario, it is vital to measure the water quality to assess the residuals of fertilizer and pesticides for its long term conservation. If anybody has some expertise in this area, please help with your experience and learning.We are doing a project on this line of assessing the pesticides and fertiliser residuals in the wetland ecosystem.

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  2. Anju,

    Situation is very grave as not only overuse of Pesticides and herbicides(including banned substances), it is stagnation as well as nullahs transporting Industrial effluents side by side which complicates the issues.In first few heravy showers in monssons, huge quantity of contaminents get into the subsurface besides flowing into the river systems thru the tributaries and nullajs..If Rivers transport the pollutants, they do allow deep percolation as well as u/g waters are interlinked.

    I understand that some beverages manufacturers in India faced the brint because they were using water to clense glass bottles for reuse and traces of pesticides were found in the bottled drinks..So, now they have abandoned glass bottle reuse and have switched to PET Bottles...

    Please do the study on water samples from hand pumps and tubewells at random during pre and post monsoon season and you will know the facts...for any catchment area.

  3. Organics and fertilizers compound in the body water should be broken down in the equil pond with strong oxidizing agent with iron coagulant. It's depend on the pH situation which favour in this body water. It's can be trial with jartest with variables dosage of chemical and pH. 

  4. You can develop a wetland model to do the assessment based on observations, similar to lakes , reservoirs and rivers water quality models. I have done many these kinds of approaches. Good luck ! Jingjie Good luck with your project.

  5. Dear Anju,

    here is a proverb that says, you can manage it if you can measure it. Ine of the most important polloutants of wetlands waters are pesticides and fertilizers. I have done some projects on mesopotamian wetlands and used different methods for measurement of pollutants. You can get main ideas from lab methods handbooks like standard methods for examination of water and wastewater from AWWA. Actually measurement method is highly affiliated to base concentration of pollutant, sensitivity of wetland ecosystem and accessible resources like instrumentation and money. Please feel free to email me for more:

    mehran.afkhami@gmail.com

  6. Dear Anjur, You are in for a great work. I just concluded my study assessing degradation of a wetland and the effects on water quality downstream. Of course my study focused on water quality at the inflow, within the wetland and outflow and then downstream. I looked at heavy metals and general physical chemical, nutrients, organic loads and sediment quality. for specific guidance on what you can do, you can email me at odotadeo@gmail.com

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  7. Dear Anju, The destruction of wetlands is a concern because they are some of the most productive habitats on the planet. They often support high concentrations of animals—including mammals, birds, fish and invertebrates—and serve as nurseries for many of these species. Wetlands also support the cultivation of rice, a staple in the diet of half the world’s population. And they provide a range of ecosystem services that benefit humanity, including water filtration, storm protection, flood control and recreation. The effect most closely correlated with loss of ecosystem services is toxification of environmental sites, whereby the organisms living in the ecosystem are damaged because of the poisonous nature of many pollutants. As many toxicants (poisonous materials) can act even with very minimal exposure, it is almost impossible and economically infeasible to remove dissolute pollution from the environment with modern technical methods.Wetlands are one of the most threatened habitats of the world. As elsewhere are increasingly facing several anthropogenic pressures. Thus, the rapidly expanding human population, large-scale changes in land use/land covers, burgeoning development projects and improper use of watersheds have all caused a substantial decline of wetland resources of the country. Significant losses have resulted from its conversion threats from industrial, agricultural and various urban developments. These have led to hydrological perturbations, pollution and there effects. Unsustainable levels of grazing and fishing activities have also resulted in degradation of wetlands. The environmental impact of pesticides consists of the effects of pesticides on non-target species. Over 98% of sprayed insecticides and 95% of herbicides reach a destination other than their target species, because they are sprayed or spread across entire agricultural fields. Runoff can carry pesticides into aquatic environments while wind can carry them to other fields, grazing areas, human settlements and undeveloped areas, potentially affecting other species. Other problems emerge from poor production, transport and storage practices. Over time, repeated application increases pest resistance, while its effects on other species can facilitate the pest's resurgence. Wetland Conservation The Pesticide Label-A pesticide label containing information on use and safety must be attached to all pesticide containers. The label includes the product name, name and amount of active ingredients, EPA registration number and establishment number, name and address of the manufacturer, and net contents Aquatic Toxicology-Aquatic toxicology is the study of the effects of environmental contaminants on aquatic organisms, such as the effect of pesticides on the health of fish or other aquatic organisms. A pesticide's capacity to harm fish and aquatic animals is largely a function of its (1) toxicity, (2) exposure time, (3) dose rate, and (4) persistence in the environment. The most important thing to remember about managing to protect your wetland is to work with what you have. For many wetland property owners, the best way to manage the wetland for protection and maintenance of the functions it serves is a hands-off approach. The hands-off approach means that you are not actively changing the key components of the wetland to modify the functions it naturally provides. It means that you are conscious of the potential threats to your wetland and are actively managing those threats If you can protect a wetland and its surrounding uplands from potential threats, the wetland will take care of itself and provide a range of beneficial functions. The simplest way to manage your wetland is not to engage in land use changes or hydrologic modifications. In addition, many landowners want to engage in low level enhancement activities or do more to ensure that their wetlands are protected for the long term. All too often our thoughts about what we can do to protect wetlands is limited to activities within the wetland. Many of the management activities that landowners can take to guard their wetlands can occur outside the wetland boundaries. 1. Nest Boxes 2. Buffers and Greenbelts 3. Adjacent Habitat 4. Fencing 5. Septic Systems 6. Fertilizers and Pesticides 7. Recreational Use. 8. Beaver Management 9. Shoreline Erosion 10. Exotic Species

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