Evaluation of contribution rate of the infiltrated water collected using zero-tension lysimeter to the downward migration of 137Cs derived from the FDNPP accident in a cedar forest soil

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 816; p. 151983
• Main Authors: Takahashi, Junko, Hihara, Daichi, Sasaki, Takuya, Onda, Yuichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 10.04.2022
• Subjects: Downward migration mechanism; Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident; Preferential flow; Radiocesium; Rainfall infiltration; Vertical distribution; Downward migration mechanism; Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident; Rainfall infiltration; Preferential flow; Vertical distribution; Radiocesium
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151983
• ISSN: 0048-9697

The vertical distribution of 137Cs in forest soil is important for predicting air dose rates and future cycling in forest ecosystems. However, there are many unexplained questions about the mechanisms of its downward migration. In this study, the 137Cs flux by rainfall infiltration was observed for three years from August 2017 using zero-tension lysimeters in a mature cedar forest where monitoring of the vertical distribution of 137Cs has been conducted since 2011. As a result, the 137Cs concentration in infiltrated water through the litter layer, 5 cm and 10 cm showed a tendency to be high in summer, but no such seasonal variation was found at 20 cm. Although the 137Cs inventory in the litter layer has been exponentially decreasing, the annual 137Cs fluxes in infiltrated water through the litter layer were almost the same in three years, and about 0.14–0.17% of the deposition density of 137Cs. Comparing these 137Cs fluxes with the apparent amounts of downward migration of 137Cs estimated from the change in the vertical distribution of 137Cs, the contribution rate of the infiltrated water to downward migration of 137Cs from litter to soil was calculated to be 8.5–17.7%. Similarly, the contribution rate in mineral soil layers was calculated to be 0.6–0.8% on a measured basis and estimated to be 3.0 ± 0.2% after correcting the amount of collected water, which is a problem with zero-tension lysimeter. It indicates that rainfall infiltration can explain a small part of the downward migration of 137Cs, thus further studies are required to clarify the contribution rate of remaining mechanisms such as advection-diffusion, colloidal transport, physical mixing, bioturbation, and growth and death of plant roots. [Display omitted] •We monitored 137Cs flux by rainfall infiltration in forest soil from 2017 to 2020.•Apparent migration amount was estimated by the vertical distribution of 137Cs.•Contribution rate of 137Cs migration by the infiltrated water was 9–18% in litter.•The contribution rate in soil was 0.6–0.8% (3% after correcting collection rate).•It was confirmed the rainfall infiltration is not dominant mechanism of migration.