Still present after all these years: persistence plus potential toxicity raise questions about the use of atrazine

As one of the worlds’ most heavily applied herbicides, atrazine is still a matter of controversy. Since it is regularly found in ground and drinking water, as well as in sea water and the ice of remote areas, it has become the subject of continuous concern due to its potential endocrine and carcinogenic activity. Current findings prove long-held suspicions that this compound persists for decades in soil. Due to the high amount applied annually all over the world, the soil burden of this compound is considered to be tremendous, representing a potential long-term threat to the environment. The persistence of chemicals such as atrazine has long been underestimated: Do we need to reconsider the environmental risk

Atrazine degradation patterns: the role of straw cover and herbicide application history

In Brazil, atrazine (ATZ) is widely applied to maize (Zea mays L.) fields for weed control. The presence of ATZ and its metabolites in soil and water matrices has become a matter of some concern for governmental authorities as well as for society at large. This study evaluated the patterns of ATZ degradation (mineralization, extractable and non-extractable ATZ residues, and metabolite formation) in a Brazilian Typic Paleudult. Soil samples from a cultivated area under a no-tillage system with a history of ATZ application were incubated with 14C-ATZ in both the presence and absence of straw cover on the soil surface, and the evolved 14CO2 was determined by liquid scintillation. Samples from an area with native vegetation, adjacent to the cultivated area, were also incubated as a control. A higher mineralization of ATZ was observed in the cultivated soil (> 85 %) in comparison with the native soil (10 %) after 85 days of incubation. In addition to the higher mineralization and hydroxyatrazine (HA) formation, a rapid decrease in the water-extractable residues was observed in the cultivated soil. When the cultivated soil was covered with straw, mineralization was reduced by up to 30 % although a small amount of remobilization to the soil occurred within the 85 days. Straw cover hindered the degradation of ATZ in cultivated soils; whereas an accelerated biodegradation was due to repeated applications of ATZ, which may have selected microbiota more skilled at biodegrading the herbicide

Das Musiktagebuch in der Rezeptionsforschung

Im Rahmen einer explorativen Studie wurde die Entwicklung von Musikpräferenzen und Funktionen von Musik im Erwachsenenalter an drei verschiedenen Generationen untersucht. [...] Die Untersuchung hat zum Ziel, diejenigen Faktoren herauszuarbeiten, welche einen Einfluss auf die Entwicklung von Musikpräferenzen im Erwachsenenalter haben, situative und habituelle Musikpräferenzen von Erwachsenen zu ermitteln und den situativen und habituellen Funktionskontext der Präferenzen zu ergründen. [...] Insgesamt bestand die Testbatterie für die Untersuchung der o.g. Fragen neben einem Musiktagebuch noch aus einem zweiteiligen Interview und Fragebögen zu verbalen Musikpräferenzen und zur CD-Sammlung. (DIPF/Orig.