super(137)Cs Availability for Soil to Understory Transfer in Different Types of Forest Ecosystems

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 269; no. 1; p. 87
• Main Authors: Fesenko, S V, Soukhova, N V, Sanzharova, NI, Avila, R, Spiridonov, SI, Klein, D, Badot, P-M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 26.03.2001
• Subjects: Ukraine, Chernobyl
• ISSN: 0048-9697

In forests of the Bryansk region, Russia, which were contaminated heavily by deposition following the Chernobyl nuclear accident, the availability of cesium-137 for transfer from soil to understory vegetation was examined, along with the factors determining differences in super(137)Cs accumulation by different understory species. In one coniferous, one deciduous, and three mixed forests, the vertical distribution of super(137)Cs in the soil was determined, as were soil properties, super(137)Cs speciation in different soil layers, the distribution of root biomass, and super(137)Cs concentrations in mosses, understory plants, and mushrooms. The extensive data are tabulated, which show that, a decade after the Chernobyl accident, the super(137)Cs concentrations found in the different soil layers were related to soil moisture regime, characteristics of forest litter, and soil properties. Aggregated transfer factors for the different understory species were related linearly to exchangeable and available fractions of super(137)Cs in the soils. The highest average transfer factors in automorphic soils were found for fungi, followed by mosses, dwarf shrubs, grasses, shrubs, and berries.