A field experiment was conducted to investigate preferential transport
of herbicides and to explore processes that cause rapid movement. Bro
mide, chloride, and three herbicides (triasulfuron, atrazine, and terb
uthylazine) with different mobility characteristics were applied to si
x 1.4 X 1.4 m field plots on a loamy and a sandy soil. At both sites,
three of the plots were covered with a plastic roof 1 month before the
beginning of the experiment to achieve different initial water conten
ts between the plots. Two days before the beginning of the tracer expe
riment, crops were removed, and the soil surface was homogenized with
a spade to a depth of 15-20 cm. One day after application of the chemi
cals the plots were irrigated with a sprinkling apparatus. The cumulat
ive amounts of infiltration until the time of sampling were 30, 60, an
d 90 mm within 1, 2, and 3 days, respectively. A trench was excavated,
and soil cores were taken horizontally from a 1 X 1 m profile in a re
gular 0.1 X 0.1 m grid. The loamy and the sandy soil showed completely
different transport patterns. In the loamy soil the bulk mass of herb
icides remained in the top layer; however, considerable amounts of her
bicides were transported below the root zone. A few percent for triasu
lfuron and atrazine and <1% for terbuthylazine were detected below 0.5
m depth after 90-mm cumulative infiltration. Traces of all herbicides
were found down to 0.9 m. The depth distributions for anions and all
herbicides were similar. These results show that the herbicides were o
nly partly adsorbed by the soil matrix. A fraction of these chemicals
was transported with or without minor adsorption along cracks or fissu
res. In the sandy soil, chemical movement was confined to the top 0.4
m, and the penetration depth of the herbicides was consistent with the
ir mobility characteristics: triasulfuron showed greatest mobility, at
razine was moderately mobile, and terbuthylazine was the least mobile
of all three.