title: Application of biodegradation in mitigating and remediating pesticide contamination of freshwater resources: state of the art and challenges for optimization.
abstract: In recent years, the application of pesticide biodegradation in remediation of pesticide-contaminated matrices moved from remediating bulk soil to remediating and mitigating pesticide pollution of groundwater and surface water bodies. Specialized pesticide-degrading microbial populations are used, which can be endogenous to the ecosystem of interest or introduced by means of bioaugmentation. It involves (semi-)natural ecosystems like agricultural fields, vegetated filter strips, and riparian wetlands and man-made ecosystems like on-farm biopurification systems, groundwater treatment systems, and dedicated modules in drinking water treatment. Those ecosystems and applications impose challenges which are often different from those associated with bulk soil remediation. These include high or extreme low pesticide concentrations, mixed contamination, the presence of alternative carbon sources, specific hydraulic conditions, and spatial and temporal variation. Moreover, for various indicated ecosystems, limited knowledge exists about the microbiota present and their physiology and about the in situ degradation kinetics. This review reports on the current knowledge on applications of biodegradation in mitigating and remediating freshwater pesticide contamination. Attention is paid to the challenges involved and current knowledge gaps for improving those applications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil and Water Management, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vandermaesen
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil and Water Management, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Horemans
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil and Water Management, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Karolien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bers
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil and Water Management, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pieter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vandermeeren
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil and Water Management, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Steffi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil and Water Management, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium.
authors.forename: Aswini
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sekhar
authors.affiliation: Environmental Modelling, Vlaamse Instelling voor Technologisch Onderzoek (VITO), Boeretang 200, 2400, Mol, Belgium.
authors.forename: Piet
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Seuntjens
authors.affiliation: Division of Soil and Water Management, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, 3001, Heverlee, Belgium. dirk.springael@kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Springael
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D017753:Ecosystem; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology; D060587:Groundwater / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D010575:Pesticides; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Biodegradation; Bioremediation; Freshwater resources; Pesticides; Pollution mitigation