We obtained the aggregated transfer factor (Tag) for 10 common edible wild plant species (four perennial spermatophytes, bamboo shoot, two tree species, and three perennial pteridophytes) in northeastern Japan. Measurement of Tag was carried out in 2012–2019 and we also used publicly available data for 2012–2019: food monitoring data and total deposition data from an airborne survey. The Tag obtained from actual measurements agreed well with Tag values calculated from the publicly available data. The sampling locations were only identified at the municipal level and uncertainty of the deposition for the publicly available data, and thus Tag values showed substantial variation. The Tag of the perennial spermatophytes, including bamboo shoot, and perennial pteridophytes showed single exponential decline with effective half-lives of approximately 2 years, whereas those of tree species did not show distinct temporal change. These results imply that data since 2014 are applicable for Tag estimation for long-term potential ingestion dose in the future to the public because of the slow decline. The calculated Tag values of all species for 2014–2019 ranged from 6.1 × 10−5 to 5.2 × 10−3 m2/kg-fresh mass. The maximum Tag value was observed for the tree koshiabura (Chengiopanax sciadophylloides) and the minimum value was observed for the perennial spermatophyte giant butterbur (Petasites japonica). Tree species showed higher Tag than spermatophyte and pteridophyte perennials.
Large-scale decontamination work has been carried out in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station accident in Japan in 2011. The soil that was removed and the wastes that were generated during the decontamination will be finally disposed of outside Fukushima Prefecture by 2045. To ensure successful and socially acceptable implementation of this final disposal process, it is essential to have a good understanding of what is considered important by the public. We used a choice-based conjoint analysis in the form of a web-based questionnaire to examine the relative importance of several factors in the choice of the final disposal sites of the removed soil and incinerated ash of the wastes. The questionnaires covered four attributes and 12 levels, namely the distance between the disposal site and a person’s residential area, procedural fairness (decision process), distributive fairness (direct mitigation of inequity through multiple siting locations), and the volume and radioactivity of the substances to be disposed. Responses were received from 4000 people nationwide, excluding Fukushima residents. The results showed that the respondents gave high importance to choosing sites that were far from residential areas and to the two types of fairness, especially distributive fairness. The respondents showed no preference for the volume and radioactivity. This indicates that the public cares about the fairness of the siting for the final disposal sites and feels uncomfortable with plans for a final disposal site located close to them. Distributive fairness is necessary to pursue consensus in addition to procedural fairness.
The spatial gradient of soil respiration from a logging road to the inner part of a forest, and the major environmental factors controlling soil respiration were studied in a hill dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia to examine the spatial effects of logging road construction on soil respiration. Soil respiration, soil temperature, and soil water content were measured at six points along a total of twenty-five 35-m transects. The logging road at the study site was constructed in 2009. The soil respiration rate on the logging road was very low (0.376 mol CO 2 m 2 s 1 ), and there were no significant differences between the roadside and inside the forest (4.76-5.95 mol CO 2 m 2 s 1 ). Path analysis showed that the soil respiration rate was affected by soil temperature and distance from the logging road. This finding differs from those of previous studies conducted in lowland tropical rain forests. We speculate that the low soil respiration rate on the road is primarily because of soil compaction and low concentrations of carbon-containing material. The soil temperature at the roadside (which was positively correlated with soil respiration) was higher than inside the forest. Despite the differences in soil temperatures, differences in soil respiration between the roadside and the inner parts of the forest were not significant, probably because of the small amount of litter present as a substrate for microbial respiration at the roadside and/or the occurrence of different microbial communities and biomass between the roadside and the inner parts of the forest.
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