PMEP Home Page --> Pesticide Fact Sheets and Tutorials --> Protecting Groundwater: A Guide for the Pesticide User --> Microbial Activity

Microbial Activity

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Degradation does not occur uniformly throughout the soil. For example, the vast majority of microbes live in the upper soil. If a chemical leaches or is introduced below the root zone, it will encounter far fewer microbes by whose actions it may be degraded. Also, temperatures are lower deeper in the soil. Therefore, if a pesticide moves below the root zone, it is a candidate leacher.

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