Einfluß des Jahresniederschlags und der Bodenart auf die 137Cs-Tiefenverteilung in Böden Südchiles

The influence of mean annual rainfall and soil texture on the ¹³⁷Cs vertical distribution in soils from southern Chile The influence of mean annual rainfall and soil texture on the vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs from global fallout was studied in undisturbed volcanic ash soils from southern Chile. The areal concentration and translocation depth increase with the mean annual precipitation. In spite of the high rainfall at the sampled area (970 - 2500 mm a^?1), the highest ¹³⁷Cs contamination was found in the upper 10 cm layer. The vertical migration is reduced by the high adsorption capacity of these volcanic ash soils, but on the other side increased in soils with high large-pore volumen. The translocation depth reaches only up to 26 cm in the clay soils, 35 cm in the silty soils and 70 cm in the sandy soil.     

Caesium-137 fallout depth distribution in different soil profiles and significance for estimating soil erosion rate

Caesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) has been widely used for the determination of soil erosion and sediment transport rate. However, depth distribution patterns of ¹³⁷Cs in the soil profile have not been considered. As a result, the erosion rates may be over-estimated or underestimated. This paper presents the depth distribution of ¹³⁷Cs fallout in different soil profiles using published data. Three types of depth distribution functions of ¹³⁷Cs are given by using statistical regression methods, the exponential type, the peak type and the decreasing type (including uniform distribution). Relationships between ¹³⁷Cs loss and soil erosion rate are given by introducing the regression functions. The influence of depth distribution of ¹³⁷Cs on the estimation of the soil erosion rate was simulated. Simulation results showed that very different soil erosion rates could be deduced for different depth distributions when ¹³⁷Cs loss is the same, which indicates that the depth distribution pattern should be considered when soil erosion is estimated by using ¹³⁷Cs. Simulation results also suggested that it is most important to determine the depth distribution of ¹³⁷Cs near the soil surface and the annual relative loss of ¹³⁷Cs by using the depth distribution of ¹³⁷Cs as a criterion to estimate the soil erosion rate.     

Distribution of 137Cs and 60Co in plough layer of farmland: Evidenced from a lysimeter experiment using undisturbed soil columns

Radionuclide fallout during nuclear accidents on the land may impair the atmosphere, contaminate farmland soils and crops, and can even reach the groundwater. Previous research focused on the field distribution of deposited radionuclides in farmland soils, but details of the amounts of radionuclides in the plough layer and the changes in their proportional distribution in the soil profile with time are still inadequate. In this study, a lysimeter experiment was conducted to determine the vertical migration of 137Cs and 60Co in brown and aeolian sandy soils, collected from the farmlands adjoining Shidaowan Nuclear Power Plant(NPP) in eastern China, and to identify the factors influencing their migration depths in soil. At the end of the experiment(800 d), >96% of added 137Cs and 60Co were retained in the top 0–20 cm soil layer of both soils;very little 137Cs or 60Co initially migrated to 20–30 cm, but their amounts at this depth increased with time. The migration depth of 137Cs was greater in the aeolian sandy soil than in the brown soil during 0–577 d, but at the end of the experiment, 137Cs migrated to the same depth(25 cm) in both soils. Three phases on the vertical migration rate(v) of 60Co in the aeolian sandy soil can be identified: an initial rapid movement(0–355 d, v = 219 ± 17 mm year-1), followed by a steady movement(355–577 d, v = 150 ± 24 mm year-1) and a very slow movement(577–800 d, v = 107 ± 7 mm year-1). In contrast, its migration rate in the brown soil(v = 133 ± 17 mm year-1) was steady throughout the 800-d experimental period. The migration of both 137Cs and 60Co in the two soils appears to be regulated by soil clay and silt fractions that provide most of the soil surface area, soil organic carbon(SOC), and soil pH, which were manifested by the solid-liquid distribution coefficient of 137Cs and 60Co. The results of this study suggest that most 137Cs and 60Co remained within the top layer(0–20 cm depth) of farmland soils following a simulated NPP accident, and little reached the subsurface(20–30 cm depth). Fixation of radionuclides onto clay minerals may limit their migration in soil, but some could be laterally distributed by soil erosion and taken up by crops, and migrate into groundwater in a high water table level area after several decades.Remediation measures, therefore, should focus on reducing their impact on the farmland soils, crops, and water.     

Spatial and vertical distribution of <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs in soils in the erosive area of southeastern Serbia (Pčinja and South Morava River Basins)

Purpose

The area of southeastern Serbia, the P?inja and South Morava River Basins, is under the influence of very strong erosion, and the aim of this study was to investigate the vertical and spatial distribution of the ¹³⁷Cs in the eroded soils of this area.

Materials and methods

Vertical soil profiles were collected with 5-cm increments from the uppermost layer down to 20, 25, 30, 40, and 50 cm of depth, depending on the thickness of the soil layers, i.e., down to the underlying parent rocks. Measurements of ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration were performed by using the HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer ORTEC-AMETEK (34 % relative efficiency and high resolution 1.65 keV at 1.33 MeV for ⁶⁰Co), from its gamma-ray line at 661.2 keV.

Results and discussion

The mean ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration across all 18 soil profiles (for all soil layers) was found to be 20 Bq kg^?1. In the greatest number of soil profiles, the ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration was generally highest in the first soil layer (0–5 cm) and decreased with soil depth, while in a few soil profiles, the peak of either the ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration occurred in the second soil layer (5–10 cm) or the ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration was almost equal throughout the entire soil profile. The mean ¹³⁷Cs activity concentration in the first soil layer (0–5 cm) was found to be 61 Bq kg^?1, and the high coefficient of variation of 92 % pointed out high spatial variability and large range of the ¹³⁷Cs activity concentrations in the study area.

Conclusions

The obtained results indicate that in the greatest number of soil profiles, ¹³⁷Cs is present in the upper layers, with concentration decreasing with depth, as is typical in uncultivated soil. Its spatial distribution was very uneven among the surface soil layers of the investigated sites. One of the main reasons for such pattern of ¹³⁷Cs in the study area may be soil erosion. Additional investigations which would support this hypothesis are required.

     

基于137Cs的土壤沉积速率的定量模型

在假设137Cs在耕层中得到充分混合而变得均一的基础上,根据质量平衡原理建立了一个根据农业耕作土壤剖面中137Cs的沉积量和土壤沉积量之间关系的定量模型.在建立模型的过程中,充分考虑了137Cs的衰变常数,年沉降分量,耕层厚度和采样年份等因素.模型的模拟结果表明,137Cs的沉积量与年平均土壤沉积量之间的关系是一种复杂的曲线关系.     

Dual roles of tillage erosion in lateral SOC movement in the landscape

The facts that the global carbon budget cannot be currently balanced and current estimates of agricultural sources and sinks may be inaccurate, may be linked to unaccounted‐for erosion‐induced changes in soil organic carbon (SOC). A closed landscape with field banks and an open landscape without field banks were selected from two sites located in Jianyang County, Sichuan Province, and Zhongxian County, Chongqing Municipality, respectively. In these landscapes, the role of tillage and water erosion was examined using measurements of soil redistribution in relation to ¹³⁷Cs radionuclide depth‐stratigraphy, to elucidate the mechanism of SOC depth distribution in the soil profile and resultant stocks in agricultural landscapes of terraced field systems. Changes in the ¹³⁷Cs inventory at different landscape positions depend on both ¹³⁷Cs concentrations of individual subsample layers (5‐cm depth) and the vertical extent of ¹³⁷Cs depth distribution in the terrace system with field banks, while the changes are only associated with the vertical extent of ¹³⁷Cs depth distribution in the terrace system without field banks because of similar ¹³⁷Cs concentrations of individual subsample layers. The profile shape of SOC depth distribution exhibits notable differences between the upper and lower parts of the terrace in systems with field banks, but no apparent differences were found in the systems without field banks and the SOC profile shape is similar to that of the upper part of the terrace in systems with field banks. It is suggested that SOC depth distribution in these two types of terraced field systems is controlled by different soil erosion patterns. Tillage erosion playing a dominant role in the process of soil erosion within a landscape can increase SOC stocks. However, SOC depletion takes place in situations where the two processes of tillage and water erosion are both important and tillage erosion acts as a delivery mechanism for water erosion. We conclude that tillage erosion plays a dual role: enhancing carbon storage at depositional positions, and accelerating carbon depletion when combined with water erosion within the same landscape.     

Mobilization of cesium in organic rich soils: Correlation with production of dissolved organic carbon

A study of the downward movement of ¹³⁷Cs in an undisturbed forest soil is presented. Seasonal variations and depth profiles of ¹³⁷Cs activities were measured in seepage water, which is the transport medium for the downward movement of anthropogenic substances in soils. Furthermore the correlation of ¹³⁷Cs mobilization and production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was investigated. Seasonal variations of both ¹³⁷Cs and DOC fluxes in the seepage water in a depth of 5 cm depth were observed, where the maximum fluxes in the summer months were about one order of magnitude higher than the minimum fluxes in the winter months. ¹³⁷Cs fluxes are found to be correlated with DOC fluxes with a correlation coefficient of r = 0.63, and both are highly correlated with soil temperature. This indicates that cesium is bound to soil organic material. The production of DOC is controlled by microbial decomposition of soil organic matter and we assume that this holds true for the ¹³⁷Cs release as well. The actual transport velocity (0.2 ± 0.14 mm/a) of ¹³⁷Cs (calculated by the weighed mean of ¹³⁷Cs concentration in the seepage water and the total ¹³⁷Cs content of the soil) is about one order of magnitude less than the mean transport velocity (1.2 ± 0.3 mm/a) over the past 25 years (calculated from the ¹³⁷Cs depth profile). It is possible that the transport velocity of ¹³⁷Cs in undisturbed soils decreases with time as it binds to aged organic material which is less easily decomposable than fresh organic material.     

Migration and Chemical Availability of 137Cs and 90Sr in SwedishLong-Term Experimental Pastures

Migration and chemical availability of ¹³⁷Cs and⁹⁰Sr in the long-term was studied on a36-yr-old deposition experiment on pastureconsisting of a sandy soil and a clay soil,contaminated in 1961 with radionuclides in aqueoussolution. Comparisons were made with a study of thesame soils in 1967. Soil samples to 55 cm depth wereanalysed for ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr to establish thevertical distribution. Chemical availability wasstudied using sequential extractions with H₂O,NH₄Ac, NH₂OH·HCl, H₂O₂ andHNO₃. Both ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr were found atall depths in both soil types. Cs-137 waspredominantly retained within the upper 10 cm (70%)in both soils. For ⁹⁰Sr, the soils differedsignificantly, retention within the upper 10 cm was27% in sandy soil and 47% in clay soil. Migrationsince 1967 was faster in the sandy soil for bothnuclides. More than 95% of ¹³⁷Cs was bound inthe acid-digestible and residual fractions in bothsoils. The residual fraction was larger in clay soil.⁹⁰Sr was highly available in both soils. Noresidual fraction was found, and the easilyexchangeable fraction was 63–75%.     

利用137Cs示踪农业耕作土壤侵蚀速率的定量模型

建立了一个根据农业耕作土壤剖面中^137Cs的损失量与土壤侵蚀量之间关系的定量模型,在假设^137Cs在耕层中得到充分的混合而变得均一的基础上,根据质量平衡模型推导而成,模型显示^137Cs的衰变常数,年沉降分量,耕层厚和采样年份对年平均土壤侵蚀速率都有重大影响,模型结果还说明,^137Cs的损失量与年平均土壤侵蚀量之间的关系既非线性关系亦非指数关系,而是一种复杂的曲线关系。     

The extent and significance of bioturbation on 137Cs distributions in upland soils

Differences between measured ¹³⁷Cs activity–depth profiles and idealised undisturbed profiles generated from an exponential model suggest that faunal turbation has redistributed ¹³⁷Cs in mineral and organic upland soils in southern Scotland. Bioturbation is also demonstrated by the vertical displacement of other inputs to the soils of known age (non-native tree pollen and spheroidal carbonaceous particles, SCPs). The causes and mechanisms of bioturbation were further investigated by soil micromorphology. Well-drained mineral soils with active populations of earthworms are the most bioturbated, showing near-complete homogenisation to depths of about 20 cm. Enchytraeids also seem to remobilise ¹³⁷Cs by the digestion of organic matter and may be the main cause of ¹³⁷Cs redistribution in organic-rich upland soils. Relative rates of mixing are evaluated by comparing ¹³⁷Cs depth profiles.     

Spatial Distribution of 137CS in Forest SOils of Switzerland

In the framework of the second Swiss forest soil inventory, ¹³⁷Cs-activity from 172 sites was measured systematically for the first time in the topmost soil layer (0–5 cm) and represented on a map. The spatial distribution of ¹³⁷Cs contamination was similar to the pattern observed in 1986 from dose equivalent measurements following the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. Forest soils from regions with high precipitation in 1986 showed a higher ¹³⁷Cs activity than regions with low precipitation. At sites with high caesium activities it was possible to discriminate between ¹³⁷Cs originating from global fallout of the fifties and sixties and ¹³⁷Cs from the Chernobyl accident. The results indicate that radiocaesium persists in the top soil layers and is recycled in forest ecosystems.     

The effect of tree roots on the redistribution of <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs in the soils of pine and birch forests of the radioactive contamination zone

Accumulation and distribution of ¹³⁷Cs by the root systems of forests in the radioactive contamination zone of Bryansk oblast have been discussed. It has been found that the phytomass and distribution of roots of pine and birch trees along the soil profile in the studied BGCs differ considerably. The specific activity of ¹³⁷Cs in the roots changes depending on their diameter: the lowest specific activity is observed in small fractions of the roots, and the highest one in large fractions. It has been shown that the contribution of roots in the total reserves of ¹³⁷Cs in the soil layer of 0–50 cm of various biogeocenoses is different: the largest contribution is characteristic for birch forests (1.66%) with variation of this parameter in separate soil layers from 1.12 to 3.53%, while the contribution for pine forests is lower (0.97%) with the variation from 0.82 to 7.5%. The contribution of roots to the overall contamination of soils in the studied plant communities increases with depth.     

Vertical distribution and bioavailability of 137Cs in organic and mineral soils

The vertical distribution and bioavailability of ¹³⁷Cs in Histosols and mineral soils with different physicochemical properties from the southeast of Bavaria (Germany) more than ten years after the Chernobyl accident were the focus of this study. The vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs was low in the investigated soils. About 85–98 % of the total ¹³⁷Cs was located in the upper 10 cm of the mineral soils. Slightly higher ¹³⁷Cs percentages were observed in deeper soil layers of the peat soils. Although the organic matter is assumed to enhance ¹³⁷Cs mobility in soils, ¹³⁷Cs was also located in the upper 10 cm of the peat soils (73–85 %). The highest ¹³⁷Cs‐activities were found in the humus layers of forest soils, where 45–93 % of the total ¹³⁷Cs soil inventories were observed. To determine the bioavailability of radiocesium, the soil‐to‐plant transfer of ¹³⁷Cs and additionally added ¹³⁴Cs was investigated under controlled conditions. The results revealed that the ^134+137Cs soil‐to‐plant transfer factors as well as the percentages of NH₄‐exchangeable ^134+137Cs were much higher for the peat soils and humus layers than for the mineral soils. Nevertheless, the migration of ¹³⁷Cs from the humus layers to the underlying soils was low. Considering the high bioavailability and low migration of radiocesium in the humus layers, it is suggested that radiocesium is involved in a shortcut element cycle in the system humus layer‐plant uptake‐litter. Furthermore, the organic matter has to be taken into account for radiocesium immobilization.     

Concentrations of Radionuclides (<Superscript>226</Superscript>Ra, <Superscript>232</Superscript>Th, <Superscript>40</Superscript>K,and <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs) in Chernozems of Volgograd Oblast Sampled in Different Years

Data on the concentrations of natural (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K) and artificial (¹³⁷Cs) radionuclides and on the physicochemical properties of chernozems sampled in different years are presented. In 1952, upon the creation of the Penza-Kamensk state shelterbelt, three deep (up to 3 m) soil pits were examined within the former arable field under two-year-old plantations of ash and maple along the transect crossing the territory of the Beloprudskaya Experimental Station of the USSR Academy of Sciences in Volgograd oblast. The samples from these pits were included into the collection of dated soil samples of the Dokuchaev Central Soil Science Museum. Five pits were examined along the same transect in 2009: three pits under shelterbelts (analogues of the pits studied in 1952) and two pits on arable fields between the shelterbelts. In the past 57 years, certain changes took place in the soil structure, bulk density, and the content and composition of humus. The salt profile of soils changed significantly under the forests. The comparison of distribution patterns of natural soil radionuclides in 1952 and 2009 demonstrated their higher contents at the depth of 10–20 cm in 2009 (except for the western shelterbelt). Background concentrations of natural radionuclides in parent materials and relationships between their distributions and the salt profiles of soils have been determined; they are most clearly observed is the soils under shelterbelts. Insignificant contamination with ¹³⁷Cs (up to 34 Bq/kg) has been found in the samples of 2009 from the upper (0–20 cm) horizon. The activity of ¹³⁷Cs regularly decreases from the east to the west; the highest concentrations of this radionuclide are found in the topmost 10 cm. This allows us to suppose that ¹³⁷Cs was brought with aerial dust by eastern winds, and the shelterbelts served as barriers to the wind flow.     

The 137Cs technique applied to steep Mediterranean slopes (Part I): the effects of lithology,slope morphology and land use

Concentrations in the soil of anthropogenic and natural radionuclides have been investigated in order to assess the applicability of the ¹³⁷Cs technique in an area of typical Mediterranean steep slopes. This technique can be used to estimate net soil redistribution rates but its potential in areas with shallow and stony soils on hard rock lithology have not been evaluated so far. In this research, the validity of using this technique in stony shallow soils at very steep slopes is discussed together with the relations between radionuclide concentrations and other soil properties, lithology, slope morphology and land use in a Mediterranean environment. Both natural Potassium-40 (⁴⁰K), Uranium-238 (²³⁸U), Thorium-232 (²³²Th) and anthropogenic Caesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) radionuclides have been determined in samples taken along slope transects on uncultivated serpentinite soils and cultivated gneiss soils. In addition to the radionuclide concentrations, parameters such as slope position, slope angle, aspect, soil depth, surface stone cover, moss, litter, vegetation cover, soil crust, stone content and bulk density have been quantified.All the natural radionuclides ⁴⁰K, ²³⁸U, ²³²Th show significantly higher concentrations in the gneiss than in the serpentinite soils, opposed to the ¹³⁷Cs concentration, which is found significantly higher in the serpentinite soils probably because of the difference in clay mineralogy. The exponential decreasing depth distribution of ¹³⁷Cs and its homogeneous spatial distribution emphasise the applicability of the ¹³⁷Cs technique in this ecosystem.Lithology determines the concentration of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides. Land use determines the relations between ¹³⁷Cs concentration/inventory and some soil characteristics. Higher ¹³⁷Cs concentration and inventory are associated with higher percentages of vegetation cover, higher percentage of stones in the soil and higher values of soil bulk density in cultivated gneiss soils. Slope morphology and land use influence the soil redistribution at slope scale. The gneiss slopes show a zonation of four to five areas of differential erosion/accumulation processes corresponding with more regular slopes and soil redistribution due to water erosion and to tillage translocation and erosion. The serpentinites, as an example of a more unstable slope type, show more erosion areas with less accumulation downslope and soil redistribution due to water erosion.     

The migration of fallout 134Cs, 137Cs and 106Ru from Chernobyl and of 137Cs from weapons testing in a forest soil

To estimate the accumulation and vertical migration of radiocesium and radioruthenium, the activity concentrations of Chernobyl-derived ¹³⁴Cs, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹⁰⁶Ru as well as of ¹³⁷Cs from the global fallout of weapons testing observed in the upper horizons of a forest soil (Hapludult, spruce stand) were evaluated with a compartment model. The resulting residence half-times were used to estimate the mean rates of transport of these radionuclides. For Chernobyl-derived ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs within the time period of 200–600 days after the beginning of the fallout the rates were between 4 cm/yr (Of1-horizon) and 2 cm/yr (Oh-horizon), and for ¹⁰⁶Ru between 4 cm/yr (Of1-horizon) and 7 cm/yr (Oh-horizon). These rates, though considerably slower than observed in the same soil during the initial infiltration of these radionuclides with a rain shower, are (depending on the soil horizon) still higher by a factor of 3–6, when compared to the rates of transport of ¹³⁷Cs from the global fallout of weapons testing in the same soil. Because global fallout ¹³⁷Cs is in the soil since about 20 years, these results suggest that the fixation of radiocesium in the forest soil is a rather slow process.     

137Cs tracing of the spatial patterns in soil redistribution,organic carbon and total nitrogen in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

The southeastern Tibetan Plateau, which profoundly affects East Asia by helping to maintain the stability of climate systems, biological diversity and clean water, is one of the regions most vulnerable to water erosion, wind erosion, tillage erosion, freeze–thaw erosion and overgrazing under global climate changes and intensive human activities. Spatial variations in soil erosion in terraced farmland (TL), sloping farmland (SL) and grassland (GL) were determined by the ¹³⁷Cs tracing method and compared with spatial variations in soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (total N). The ¹³⁷Cs concentration in the GL was higher in the 0–0.03 m soil layer than in the other soil layers due to weak migration and diffusion under low precipitation and temperature conditions, while the ¹³⁷Cs concentration in the soil layer of the SL was generally uniform in the 0–0.18 m soil layer due to tillage-induced mixing. Low ¹³⁷Cs inventories appeared at the summit and toe slope positions in the SL due to soil loss by tillage erosion and water erosion, respectively, while the highest ¹³⁷Cs inventories appeared at the middle slope positions due to soil accumulation under relatively flat landform conditions. In the GL, the ¹³⁷Cs data showed that higher soil erosion rates appeared at the summit due to freeze–thaw erosion and steep slope gradients and at the toe slope position due to wind erosion, gully erosion, freeze–thaw erosion and overgrazing. The ¹³⁷Cs inventory generally increased from upper to lower slope positions within each terrace (except the lowest terrace). The ¹³⁷Cs data along the terrace toposequence showed abrupt changes in soil erosion rates between the lower part of the upper terrace and the upper part of the immediate terrace over a short distance and net deposition on the lower and toe terraces. Hence, tillage erosion played an important role in the soil loss at the summit slope positions of each terrace, while water erosion dominantly transported soil from the upper terrace to the lower terrace and resulted in net soil deposition on the flat lower terrace. The SOC inventories showed similar spatial patterns to the ¹³⁷Cs inventories in the SL, TL and GL, and significant correlations were found between the SOC and ¹³⁷Cs inventories in these slope landscapes. The total N inventories showed similar spatial patterns to the inventories of ¹³⁷Cs and SOC, and significant correlations were also found between the total N and ¹³⁷Cs inventories in the SL, TL and GL. Therefore, ¹³⁷Cs can successfully be used for tracing soil, SOC and total N dynamics within slope landscapes in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau.     

Cesium and soil carbon in a small agricultural watershed

Scientific, political, and social interests have developed recently in the concept of using agricultural soils to sequester carbon. Studies supporting this concept indicate that soil erosion and subsequent redeposition of eroded soils in the same field may establish an ecosystem disequilibrium that promotes the buildup of carbon on agricultural landscapes. The problem is to determine the patterns of soil erosion and redeposition on the landscape and to relate these to soil carbon patterns. Radioactive ¹³⁷cesium (¹³⁷Cs) can be used to estimate soil erosion patterns and, more importantly, redeposition patterns at the field level. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between ¹³⁷Cs, soil erosion, and soil carbon patterns on a small agricultural watershed. Profiles of soils from an upland area and soils in an adjacent riparian system were collected in 5 cm increments and the concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs and carbon were determined. ¹³⁷Cs and carbon were uniformly mixed in the upper 15–20 cm of upland soils. ¹³⁷Cs (Bq g⁻¹) and carbon (%) in the upland soils were significantly correlated (r²=0.66). Carbon content of the 0–20 cm layer was higher (1.4±0.3%) in areas of soil deposition than carbon content (1.1±0.3%) in areas of soil erosion as determined by the ¹³⁷Cs technique. These data suggest that measurements of ¹³⁷Cs in the soils can be useful for understanding carbon distribution patterns in surface soil. Carbon content of the upland soils ranged from 0.5 to 1.9% with an average of 1.2±0.4% in the 0–20 cm layer while carbon below this upper tilled layer (20–30 cm) ranged from 0.2 to 1.5% with an average of 0.5±0.3%. Total carbon was 2.66 and 3.20 kg m⁻² in the upper 20 cm and upper 30 cm of the upland soils, respectively. Carbon content of the 0–20 cm layer in the riparian system ranged from 1.1 to 67.0% with an average 11.7±17.1%. Carbon content below 20 cm ranged from 1.8 to 79.3% with an average of 18.3±17.5%. Soil carbon in the upper 20 cm of the riparian profile was 10.1 and 15.0 kg m⁻² in the upper 30 cm of the riparian profiles. This is an increase of organic carbon by a factor of 3.8 and 4.7 for the upper 20 cm and upper 30 cm of the riparian profiles, respectively, when compared to the upland soil profiles.     

Method of studying the degradation of soil macroaggregates based on the self-absorption of 137Cs β radiation

A method was proposed for studying the degradation of soil aggregates in time from the absorption of ¹³⁷Cs β-radiation by a soil sample. The method is based on the difference in the recorded β radiation intensities depending on the distribution of ¹³⁷Cs between the surface of the aggregates and the nonaggregated soil material. At the localization of the radionuclide on the surface of the soil aggregates, the counting rate will significantly exceed that for the samples containing a similar amount of the radionuclide uniformly distributed throughout the soil volume. This effect is due to the insignificant range of the mild β radiation in the soil (less than 1 mm depending on the radiation energy). Relatively clear calibration graphs under the selected conditions of the radiometric measurements were obtained for the aggregates whose sizes were in the range of 3–10 mm. Under natural conditions, the 7- to 10-mm aggregates of a dark gray clay loamy soil under a forest belt decomposed by 50–65% at a depth of 10 cm and by 23–32% at a depth of 30 cm. The more intense degradation of the soil aggregates of the same size was observed under the conditions of a pot experiment.     

Radionuclide Behaviour and Transport in a Coniferous Woodland Ecosystem: The Distribution of Radionuclides in Soil and Leaf Litter

A coniferous woodland in the vicinity of theBritish Nuclear Fuels reprocessing plant atSellafield, Cumbria, was used to examine the spatial,temporal and depth distribution of ¹³⁴Cs,¹³⁷Cs, ²³⁸Pu, ^239+240Pu and ²⁴¹Amin soil and leaf litter. All the radionuclides, withthe exception of ¹³⁴Cs, showed a consistent fallin accumulated soil and litter deposits withincreasing distance from the woodland edge nearest toSellafield. ¹³⁷Cs levels in soil declined from 53to 28 kBq m^-2, ^239+240Pu from 5.5 to 3.6 kBqm^-2 and ²⁴¹Am from 2.9 to 1.1 kBq m^-2within 100 m of the forest edge. This decline isattributed to greater deposition occurring at theleading edge of the woodland. The uniform depositionpattern of ¹³⁴Cs in soil is consistent with thehypothesis that, at the time of sampling, thesedeposits derived largely from wet deposition duringpassage of the Chernobyl plume over Cumbria in May1986. Results for the leaf litter indicate a similarspatial distribution to that observed in soil.Radionuclide concentrations were also similar but thisis not attributable to adventitious soil contaminationbecause significant differences between isotopicratios of ¹³⁴Cs:¹³⁷Cs and ²³⁸Pu:^239+240Pu imply that the contamination on leaflitter is of more recent origin than that in soils.