Predicted spatio-temporal dynamics of radiocesium deposited onto forests following the Fukushima nuclear accident

Hirano, Shoji; Matsuura, T.; Nanko, Kazuki; Linkov, Igor; Shaw, G.; Kaneko, Shinji

doi:10.1038/srep02564

Cited by 102 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 25 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Late in each of the simulation periods, the unmanaged aboveground biomass fluctuated due to self-thinning (Figure 2). As can be seen for 137 Cs in the RIFE simple compartment model (Hashimoto et al, 2013), our model also showed rapid migration of 137 Cs inventory from leaves to the forest floor (i.e., to litterfall and soil compartments), even though the migration via litterfall was represented as biomass-or C-based mass flow. This rapid migration was also comparable with field observations of Japanese cedar in Fukushima, where the 137 Cs inventory in the litter layer doubled from the autumn of 2011 to the autumn of 2012 (Kaneko et al, 2014).…”

Section: General Behavior Of Forothcs and A Sensitivity Test For The mentioning

confidence: 86%

Modeling radionuclide Cs and C dynamics in an artificial forest ecosystem in Japan -FoRothCs ver1.0-

Nishina

Hayashi

2015

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Predicting the environmental fate of Cs radionuclides in forest ecosystems is important for the effective management and assessment of radioactively contaminated forest areas. A large proportion of the radioactively contaminated areas in Japan consist of forest ecosystems, and most of these areas are artificial forests that are used for timber production [e.g., Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and red pine (Pinus densiflora)]. Determining the long-term redistribution of 137 Cs in forest ecosystems is important for estimating human doses and understanding the ecological impacts and challenges associated with managing contaminated forests. To facilitate the management and 137 Cs decontamination of these forests, we developed a new open-source 137 Cs cycling model, ForRothCs, that considers C cycling within forests, as well as biomass production and soil decomposition processes. For the 137 Cs inventory, this model estimates the dynamics (Bq m −2 ) and activity (Bq kg −2 ) of 137 Cs on a decadal time scale, primarily in the leaves, branches, stems, litter layer, and the soil. This model is based on the biomass production and the dynamics of the C cycle models. We tested the model by considering a simple scenario of forest management, i.e., thinning and harvesting, for the first five years following a fallout event. The results showed that these activities have a limited impact on the 137 Cs inventory due to the rapid migration of 137 Cs from vegetation to soil. Our projections also showed the examined forest management practices resulted in reduced litterfall, which in turn reduced C input to the forest floor and increased the concentration of 137 Cs in the litterfall and soil organic layer. Although further validation of the ForRothCs model is required using field observation data, the model can be used to evaluate long-term 137 Cs dynamics associated with commonly used forest and decontamination management scenarios.

show abstract

Section: General Behavior Of Forothcs and A Sensitivity Test For The mentioning

confidence: 86%

Modeling radionuclide Cs and C dynamics in an artificial forest ecosystem in Japan -FoRothCs ver1.0-

Nishina

Hayashi

2015

Front. Environ. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Compared with European forests, the forests in Japan experience a warmer climate with higher mean annual precipitation. These differences make it likely that Japanese forests will circulate radiocesium deposited by the FNPP accident more rapidly than did the European forests following the Chernobyl accident (Hashimoto et al 2013 ). Indeed, the levels of radiocesium in trees dropped rapidly during the fi rst 2 years after the fallout, but radiocesium in the soil surface organic layer and soil surface layer (0-5 cm) components kept the same level during (Forestry Agency 2014.…”

Section: Infl Uence Of Diet On Radiocesium Concentrations In Freshwatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocesium Concentrations and Body Size of Freshwater Fish in Lake Hayama 1 Year After the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Takagi¹,

Yamamoto

Matsuda

et al. 2015

Impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident on Fish and Fishing Grounds

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

We measured radiocesium ( 134 Cs + 137 Cs) concentrations in fi ve freshwater fi sh species in Lake Hayama, Fukushima Prefecture, 1 year after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident in March 2011. The fi ve species included bluegill ( Lepomis macrochirus ), Carassius spp. ( Carassius auratus langsdorfi i and Carassius cuvieri ), Japanese dace ( Tribolodon hakonensis ), largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ), and smallmouth bass ( Micropterus dolomieu ). We observed a "positive size effect" for radiocesium concentrations in fi sh muscle, but the coeffi cient of determination was low for bluegill, Carassius spp., and Japanese dace. In contrast, the coeffi cient of determination was high for the exponential relationship between body size and radiocesium concentrations in largemouth and smallmouth

show abstract

“…As the majority (~66%) of the landscape receiving high levels of radiocesium fallout (i.e. >1000 kBq m À2 ) were a mixture of evergreen and deciduous forests (Hashimoto et al, 2012), a significant quantity of radiocesium is also stored within the forest canopy, leaf litter, and soil organic matter (Hashimoto et al, 2013;Koarashi et al, 2012;Loffredo et al, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do forests represent a long-term source of contaminated particulate matter in the Fukushima Prefecture?

Laceby

Huon

Onda

et al. 2016

Journal of Environmental Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tThe Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident resulted in radiocesium fallout contaminating coastal catchments of the Fukushima Prefecture. As the decontamination effort progresses, the potential downstream migration of radiocesium contaminated particulate matter from forests, which cover over 65% of the most contaminated region, requires investigation. Carbon and nitrogen elemental concentrations and stable isotope ratios are thus used to model the relative contributions of forest, cultivated and subsoil sources to deposited particulate matter in three contaminated coastal catchments. Samples were taken from the main identified sources: cultivated (n ¼ 28), forest (n ¼ 46), and subsoils (n ¼ 25). Deposited particulate matter (n ¼ 82) was sampled during four fieldwork campaigns from November 2012 to November 2014. A distribution modelling approach quantified relative source contributions with multiple combinations of element parameters (carbon only, nitrogen only, and four parameters) for two particle size fractions (<63 mm and <2 mm). Although there was significant particle size enrichment for the particulate matter parameters, these differences only resulted in a 6% (SD 3%) mean difference in relative source contributions. Further, the three different modelling approaches only resulted in a 4% (SD 3%) difference between relative source contributions. For each particulate matter sample, six models (i.e. <63 mm and <2 mm from the three modelling approaches) were used to incorporate a broader definition of potential uncertainty into model results. Forest sources were modelled to contribute 17% (SD 10%) of particulate matter indicating they present a long term potential source of radiocesium contaminated material in fallout impacted catchments. Subsoils contributed 45% (SD 26%) of particulate matter and cultivated sources contributed 38% (SD 19%). The reservoir of radiocesium in forested landscapes in the Fukushima region represents a potential long-term source of particulate contaminated matter that will require diligent management for the foreseeable future.

show abstract

Predicted spatio-temporal dynamics of radiocesium deposited onto forests following the Fukushima nuclear accident

Cited by 102 publications

References 25 publications

Modeling radionuclide Cs and C dynamics in an artificial forest ecosystem in Japan -FoRothCs ver1.0-

Modeling radionuclide Cs and C dynamics in an artificial forest ecosystem in Japan -FoRothCs ver1.0-

Radiocesium Concentrations and Body Size of Freshwater Fish in Lake Hayama 1 Year After the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident

Do forests represent a long-term source of contaminated particulate matter in the Fukushima Prefecture?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About