Transfer of radioactive caesium from soil to vegetation and comparison with potassium in upland grasslands

Coughtrey, P. J.; Kirton, J.A.; Mitchell, N.G.; Morris, C.

doi:10.1016/0269-7491(89)90150-4

Cited by 37 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…From the limited data for coniferous vegetation approximately 6.4% (Thiry et al, 1990cited in Myttenaere et al, 1993 to 10.1% (Yamagata et al, 1969) of the total 137Cs inventory is stored in the above-ground biomass, whereas the remainder is in the litter and mineral soil. This can be compared with approximately 3.3% for pre-Chernobyl 137Cs stored in (upland) grasses in Cumbria, UK (Coughtrey et al, 1989). Additionally, wet and dry radionuclide deposition in forested areas is spatially more heterogeneous than grassed areas for the following reasons: (i) stand composition may be a complex mix of various species with different aerodynamic surface areas (Wiman et al, 1990), surface to volume ratios (Whicker, 1983) and thus different interception factors for wet and dry fallout (Winteringham, 1989) -this variability is increased if there is a mix of coniferous and deciduous vegetation; (ii) soil to plant 137Cs transfer coefficients are species-specific and this, combined with variations in leaf-fall, increases the spatial variation in the 137Cs inventory at a given site; (iii) stemflow generally causes the greatest 137Cs activity to be concentrated around tree trunks, with a radial decrease towards the outer canopy (Franklin et af., 1967;Adriano et al, 1981;Bunzl et al, 1989;Forster and Schimmack, 1992), and stemflow 137Cs varies with bark type and canopy architecture (Franklin et al, 1967;Gersper, 1970); and (iv) common sampling designs are extremely difficult to implement in forested areas, and complications arise when attempting to define a representative sample site (i.e.…”

Section: Sampling Design: the Reference Locationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Caesium-137 soil sampling and inventory variability in reference locations: A literature survey

Sutherland

1996

Hydrol. Process.

143

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Soil sampling design, the number of samples collected and the lateral variation of caesium-137 (I3'Cs) in uneroded reference locations were extracted from previously published work. The focus was on published work which used 137Cs reference inventory (Bq m-*) for qualitative or quantitative estimation of sediment redistribution SRD within the landscape. The objective of this study was to address one of the methodological concerns facing the Cs technique -that is. the lack of a rigorous statistical treatment of reference locations. The limited attention paid to the reference location is not justified as 'true' estimates of SRD are based on the assumption of an unbiased, independent, random probability sample estimate, commonly the arithmetic mean. Results from the literature survey indicated that only 1 1 % of the reference locations sampled for 137Cs expressly stated that a probability sampling design was used (transect or systematic-aligned grid). The remaining locations were generally sampled using a non-probability based design, more commonly known as haphazard sampling. Of the 75 reference study areas identified only 40 provided enough information to determine the dispersion around the mean, and from this the coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated for all available data. The median CV was 19.3%, with 95% confidence limits of 13.0-23.4%, indicating that a proximately 1 1 random, independent samples would generally be necessary to adequately quantify the reference ''Cs area activity with an allowable error of 10% at 90% confidence. Further analysis indicated that only one-third of the studies sampled a sufficient number of I3'Cs reference locations. This value would actually be lower as sampling frameworks were based on non-probability sampling procedures. For '37Cs reference locations it is recommended that a probability sampling design be utilized, preferably the systematic-aligned grid method, and as a minimum first-order estimate about 1 1 samples should be collected for inventory estimates. '. '

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Section: Sampling Design: the Reference Locationmentioning

confidence: 97%

Caesium-137 soil sampling and inventory variability in reference locations: A literature survey

Sutherland

1996

Hydrol. Process.

143

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“…The response of arbuscular mycorrhizal plants to pH has been studied for some very practical reasons, including potential negative effects of H + on plant productivity via direct effects on the endophyte and host physiology, and indirect effects via changes in soil processes, e.g. metal and base cation availability (Coughtrey et al, 1989;Clark et al, 1999). Some AM fungi did poorly in low-pH soils, while other fungi did poorly after acid-soils were limed (Mosse, 1972).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Availability of radiocasium in plant from soil: facts, mechanism and modelling

2013

Global NEST Journal

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Radiocaesium is an isotope that can enter the food chain after having been absorbed by plants from soil. Our ability to predict the consequences of an accidental release of 137 Cs depends mainly on the level of understanding of the mechanisms involved in 137 Cs interactions with different components of agricultural and natural ecosystems and their formalization into predictive models. In this study the impact of some environmental and physiological factors, such as root density and presence of AM (Arbuscular mycorrhizal) fungal hyphae, on the ability of plants to uptake and accumulate radiocaesium through the roots was investigated. Three plant species were used: pea, soybean and oats. Experimental data suggested that, as roots explore new volumes of soil during growth, the plant will continue to accumulate this radionuclide at high rates in the early stages of ontogenesis. If plants are established on a contaminated site they may not be able to remove all of this radionuclide from soil, especially if a substantial amount of the radionuclide has been leached below the root zone which is commonly 30-40 cm in depth. Laboratory experiments indicate that certain plants may be able to remove radionuclides, especially 137 Cs, from soil over a time period of 5-20 years.

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“…Numerous reports have described plant accumulation of radionuclides, especially 137 Cs and 90 Sr (14,(22)(23)(24)(25). Laboratory experiments indicate that certain plants may be able to remove radionuclides, especially 137 Cs and ^Sr from soil over a time period of 5 to 20 years.…”

Section: Survey Of Plants That Accumulate 137 Cs and '"Srmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Salt et al (14) reported that Lolium perenne, Festuca rubra, Trifolium repens and Cerastium fontanum accumulated from 28 to 1040 Bq 137 Cs g 1 of plant tissue in a re-seeded pasture in Scotland. Coughtery et al (24) found that a Festuca / Agrostis plant community in the United Kingdom accumulated 4-19% of the 137 Cs deposited by Chernobyl fallout. Accumulation of 137 Cs was higher in Carex spp than in 9 species of grasses in an upland area in Great Britain (24).…”

Section: Survey Of Plants That Accumulate 137 Cs and '"Srmentioning

confidence: 98%