After their application on agricultural fields, pesticides may be transported off-field into surface water bodies and hence impair water quality. Many different models have been developed to describe pesticide entry and behaviour in surface water bodies. The selection of the spatiotemporal scale is pivotal for this kind of modelling. This review proposes a classification of model applications based on their spatial scale, and further investigates the consequences that the selection of the spatial scale has on temporal resolution of the predictions, number of modelled substances, hydrology, water body types, landscape, and mitigation measures. The suitability of the different scales for water quality management and regulation is discussed together with some proposals for tiered approaches involving multiple scales.

在农药应用于农业领域之后，农药可能会被野外运输到地表水体中，从而损害水质。已经开发出许多不同的模型来描述农药在地表水体中的进入和行为。时空尺度的选择对于这种建模至关重要。这篇综述根据模型应用的空间规模提出了一个分类，并进一步研究了空间尺度的选择对预测的时间分辨率，模拟物质的数量，水文学，水体类型，景观和缓解措施的影响。 。讨论了不同规模对水质管理和监管的适用性，以及针对涉及多个规模的分层方法的一些建议。