Impact of rainfall intensity on the transport of two herbicides in undisturbed grassed filter strip soil cores

Two series of displacement experiments with isoproturon and metribuzin herbicides were performed on two undisturbed grassed filter strip soil cores, under unsaturated steady-state flow conditions. Several rainfall intensities (0.070, 0.147, 0.161, 0.308 and 0.326 cm h− 1) were used. A water tracer (bromide) was simultaneously injected in each displacement experiment. A descriptive analysis of experimental breakthrough curves of bromide and herbicides combined with a modeling analysis showed an impact of rainfall intensity on the solute transport. Two contrasting physical non-equilibrium transport processes occurred. Multiple (three) porosity domains contributed to flow at the highest rainfall intensities, including preferential flow through macropore pathways. Macropores were not active any longer at intermediate and lowest velocities, and the observed preferential transport was described using dual-porosity-type models with a zero or low flow in the matrix domain. Chemical non-equilibrium transport of herbicides was found at all rainfall intensities. Significantly higher estimated values of degradation rate parameters as compared to batch data were correlated with the degree of non-equilibrium sorption. Experimental breakthrough curves were analyzed using different physical and chemical equilibrium and non-equilibrium transport models: convective–dispersive model (CDE), dual-porosity model (MIM), dual-permeability model (DP), triple-porosity, dual permeability model (DP-MIM); each combined with both chemical instantaneous and kinetic sorption.