Davies, Lawrence O. (2013) The effect of non-UV light on crop protection product degradation and soil microbial community structure and function. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The use of crop protection products (CPPs) is essential to improve crop production
levels and feed the rising global population. Safety testing of CPPs is also essential to
ensure that their use does not adversely affect human health or the environment.
Currently, laboratory-based studies typically over-estimate the environmental
persistence of CPPs in the environment. The inclusion of environmental variables
that are currently omitted from laboratory studies, such as non-UV light, could
reduce the disparity between laboratory and field degradation studies.
The inclusion of light resulted in a significant reduction in extractable parent
compound for benzovindiflupyr, chlorotoluron, prometryn, imidacloprid, and
fludioxonil compared to dark conditions. In contrast, a significantly slower rate of
cinosulfuron transformation was observed under light compared to dark conditions.
In a separate experiment, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism showed
that under light conditions, the soil surface (0-3 mm) harboured distinct phototroph,
bacterial and fungal communities compared to the underlying bulk soil (3-12 mm), or
dark incubated soil. 454 pyrosequencing revealed that light selected for diazotrophs
at the soil surface, including Nostoc punctiforme, in addition to heterotrophic
bacteria, particularly within the phylum Firmicutes. Metatranscriptomic analysis
showed that light also selected for actively transcribing photosynthetic eukaryotes at
the soil surface, such as Chlorophyceae and Saccharomycetes, in addition to
heterotrophs, such as Nostocaceae. Finally, light selected for major soil functions
such as photosynthesis, and reduced the alpha and beta diversity of predicted protein
coding regions at the soil surface. This work has important implications for CPP
regulatory studies and soil surface management practices

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	Q Science > QK Botany S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Plants, Protection of -- Research, Plants -- Effect of light on, Soil microbial ecology, Pests -- Control -- Environmental aspects, Pests -- Control -- Health aspects
Official Date:	September 2013
Dates:	Date Event September 2013 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	School of Life Sciences
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Bending, G. D. (Gary D.); Schafer, Hendrik; Marshall, S. (Samantha); Bramke, Irene; France, Emma; Oliver, R. L.
Sponsors:	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (Great Britain) (BBSRC); Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture
Extent:	xviii, 228 leaves : illustrations, charts.
Language:	eng

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