Abstract |
A conceptual model was developed to describe aspects of the fate and effects of a pesticide in an orchard ecosystem. In order to refine, parameterize, and test a mathematical model based upon this conceptual model a program of field and laboratory experiments was undertaken. The environmental behavior of azinphosmethyl was studied in a Michigan apple orchard watershed to gather data for the model on initial distribution within the orchad, vertical movement of the pesticide under the influence of rainfall, loss from the orchard with runoff, and the effects of the pesticide on several invertebrate populations. The generalized model developed, entitled the Pesticide Orchard Ecosystem Model (POEM), includes as a special case the model for the azinphosmethyl applications under the conditions of this field study. |