The persistence and transport of glyphosate in soil is dependent on soil composition, climatic conditions and microbial activity , as well as agricultural management .Undegraded glyphosate is almost instantaneously inactivated by sorption to soil particles reducing its transport in the soil matrix or leaching in soluble form. For example, strong cations (Fe, Al) in soil
and in water react with glyphosate to produce compounds that degrade very slowly. This might partly explain why
farmers have long known that the same amount of glyphosate is less effective, when glyphosate is diluted in very
hard water with high mineral content. In boreal areas, soils tend to have low pH, which helps glyphosate to be
sorbed to mineral particles