The adsorption and leaching characteristics of five ionic pesticides including four acidic pesticides (2,4-D, dicamba, MCPA, and MCPP) and one amphoteric pesticide (imazaquin) in agricultural soils were investigated. Soils around spring waters that were heavily affected by pesticide run-off and soils around wells considering the regional characteristics in Jeju Island were collected at 24 stations. The Freundlich constant, KF value, which is a measure of the adsorption capacity, decreased in the order of 2,4-D > MCPA > MCPP > dicamba > imazaquin. The adsorption capacity of these ionic pesticides decreased with increasing pH owing to the effects of ionization of pesticides and different ionizable functional groups of soils. The leaching of ionic pesticides in the soil column showed a reverse relationship with their adsorption in soils, namely, the ionic pesticides were leached more quickly for the pesticides with lower adsorption capacity. The groundwater contamination potential of the ionic pesticides was evaluated in the order of imazaquin > MCPA > MCPP > dicamba > 2.4-D according to the groundwater ubiquity score based on soil Koc and the half-life of the pesticide.

Agricultural soils around springwaters heavily affected by pesticide run-off and around wells considering the regional characteristics were collected at 24 stations in Jeju Island, and the physicochemical properties and adsorption and leaching characteristics of four nonionic pesticides (diazinon, fenitrothion, alachlor, and metalaxyl) were investigated. The values of the major soil factors affecting the adsorption and leaching of pesticides, namely, soil pH(H2O), organic matter content, and cation exchange capacity (CEC), were in the range of 4.64 ∼ 8.30, 0.9 ∼ 13.1% and 12.7 ∼ 31.7 meq/100 g, respectively. The Freundlich constant, KF value, which gives a measure of the adsorption capacity, decreased in the order of fenitrothion > diazinon > alachlor > metalaxyl, which was identical to their lower water solubility. Among the collected soils, the KF value was very highly correlated with organic matter content (r2 = 0.800 ∼ 0.876) and CEC (r2 = 0.715 ∼ 0.825) and showed a high correlation with clay content (r2 = 0.473 ∼ 0.575) and soil pH(H2O) (r2 = 0.401 ∼ 0.452). The leaching of pesticides in the soil column showed a reverse relationhip with their adsorption in soils, i.e., the pesticides leached more quickly for the soils with lower values of organic matter content and CEC among the soils and for the pesticides with higher water solubility.