Degradation studies simulation experiments modeling

A number of experimental studies have established that both microbial and chemical degradation can be approximately described by first-order kinetics (24). Most pesticide models employ such an approach. As with linear sorption, this relatively naive representation of a fundamentally more complicated process is a simplifying assumption to make mathematical solutions possible and data requirements reasonable. Implicit in the assumption is the belief that the accuracy of simulation of pesticide fate is more dependent upon other factors than a very precise representation of the degradation process. These factors include spatial and temporal variability of the degradation process itself as affected by water, temperature, substrate, and pH, and variability in the transport of pesticide through the soil profile. There is little information to substantiate this assumption, although some field experiments on water and solute movement (discussed below) indicate it to be reasonable at this point in model development. 

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