Biological transfer and loss of 36Cl-labeled DDT in an old-field ecosystem

An enclosed 10-acre old-field plot treated in June 1969, with chlorine-36 labeled DDT was sampled each year from 1969 through 1974 to monitor the fate of the insecticide in the soil and biota. In order to provide data on compartmentalization of DDT in the vegetation, invertebrates and vertebrates inhabiting the plot, sampling was carried out to estimate both body burdens of DDT and biomass of populations. Another aspect of this study, the determination of rates of accumulation of residues by invertebrates and vertebrates, has been reported previously (Forsyth and Peterle 1973; Forsyth et al. 1975; Peterle 1975). This report describes (a) temporal patterns of DDT residues in soil and biota from 1969 through 1974 and (b) quantities of DDT held in the soil and biotic compartments of the ecosystem. Part II of the report is concerned with translocation and accumulation of14C-DDT