Field test of a mathematical model for non‐equilibrium transport of pesticides in soil

A model for the transport of pesticides in non‐structured arable soil has been tested under field conditions. Three classes of sorption site are distinguished in the model. Sorption at class 1 sites is assumed to be at equilibrium whereas sorption at class 2 and class 3 sites is calculated using rate equations. Class 2 sites equilibrate on a time scale of days and class 3 sites equilibrate on a time scale of hundreds of days. In the model, the liquid phase is assumed to be homogeneous and completely mobile. The model was validated in two field experiments on a loamy sand soil using the herbicides cyanazine and metribuzin and using bromide ion as a tracer of liquid flow in soil. Ignoring sorption at class 3 sites resulted in large discrepancies between calculated and measured concentration profiles. Calculated concentration profiles were sensitive to the desorption rate constant for class 3 sites.