Comparative analysis of the relationship between Cs and K in soil and plant parts toward control of Cs accumulation in rice

The effect of soil exchangeable potassium (K) and cesium (Cs) levels on Cs uptake and accumulation in different parts of rice (Oryza sativa L.) plants were examined using paddy soils with diverse exchangeable K and Cs in pot experiments. Aboveground Cs uptake decreased with higher exchangeable K and was linearly correlated with exchangeable Cs/K ratios, indicating competitive absorption of these elements by roots. Variation in Cs concentration in brown rice among soils was also related to the exchangeable Cs/K ratio. The exchangeable Cs/K ratio was positively reflected in the Cs/K concentration ratio in each plant part, with a specific slope, suggesting that Cs transport was coordinated with K transport and that there were regulated discriminations of Cs against K in the translocation process among parts. The Cs/K ratio was higher in brown rice and dead leaves than in active leaves, stems and husks. The distribution of Cs accumulation in brown rice was 14.5% on average, but it was variable and negatively related to K concentration in the stem. The Cs distribution in aboveground plant parts also decreased with higher K concentration in the root. These results imply the importance of the competitiveness with K in the root absorption and translocation of Cs within the plant. Based on the observed relationship between Cs and K, effective K management and other measures to control Cs accumulation in plant parts are discussed.     

Cesium uptake of field-grown Amaranthus species in Fukushima focusing on Cs concentration in xylem exudate and root distribution

ABSTRACT

Radiocesium (RCs) discharged by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc.) accident has extensively contaminated agricultural land in Fukushima Prefecture and its neighboring areas. Many studies have demonstrated that Cs (RCs and ¹³³Cs) uptake of plants is affected by the exchangeable K (Ex-K) concentration in soil. However, the precise plant–soil interaction in relation to Cs uptake is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate Cs uptake of plant in field by focusing on xylem exudate and roots because nutrients in xylem exudate reflect medium (soil) conditions and affect nutrient accumulation in shoots. Two varieties of amaranth, K4 (Amaranthus caudatus L.) and Mexico type (A. hypochondriacus L.), which have different Cs uptake abilities, were grown in four fields and in pots (750 to 3440 Bq kg^?1 of RCs) in Fukushima Prefecture. Cs concentrations in xylem exudate, shoot, and soil; Ex-K concentration in soil; and root distribution in soil were determined. RCs concentration in xylem exudate varied from 0.04 to 164 Bq kg^?1 and ¹³³Cs concentration in xylem exudate ranged from 0.01 to 33.7 μg kg^?1. The Cs concentrations were decreased by the high Ex-K concentration and the large amount of 2:1 type clay minerals in soil. The average of the ratios of Cs concentration in shoot to Cs concentration in xylem exudate for all samples was 127 ± 112 (mean ± standard deviation), although no clear correlation was found between them. The correlations betwee\n RCs and ¹³³Cs concentrations in xylem exudate and shoot were strong in pot and in the field with low Ex-K concentration. Eighty-five percent of the total root length was distributed in the topsoil (0–20 cm soil layer). The positions where roots take up Cs were estimated from the differences in the vertical distribution of RCs and ¹³³Cs concentrations in soil. The estimated Cs uptake ratios of topsoil to total soil layer ranged from 7% to 91% and varied with the concentration and the vertical distribution of Ex-K in soil.     

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.     

Influence of flooding on exchangeability and release of stable and radioactive cesium in contaminated paddy soil

ABSTRACT

An incubation experiment was conducted to clarify how soil flooding influences the mobility of radioactive cesium (RCs: ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs) in paddy soil after aging, focusing on the effects of ammonium increase and soil reduction. We used two contaminated paddy soils (A and B, both Gleyic Fluvisols) aged for 26 months after the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accidents, and analyzed both the RCs and stable cesium (¹³³Cs). The soils were incubated in a flooded condition, with or without the addition of ammonium fertilizer, for 1, 15 and 30 d, and in an unflooded condition for 30 d. After the incubation periods, we quantified ¹³³Cs concentration in the soil solution, ¹³³Cs and RCs released from soil in 0.01 mol L^–1 calcium chloride solution as parameters of release intensity, and ¹³³Cs and RCs extracted with 1 mol L^?1 ammonium acetate solution as exchangeable quantities, and analyzed their relationship with ammonium content and redox condition in soil. The increase of ammonium by both ammonification and fertilizer application promoted release of exchangeable ¹³³Cs and RCs to the soil solution and calcium solution. When ammonium content became low during unflooded incubation, exchangeable ¹³³Cs and RCs themselves decreased. When soil reduction progressed with flooded incubation, however, exchangeable ¹³³Cs and RCs decreased, despite high ammonium content. To estimate the influence of soil reduction on the exchangeability of RCs, soil A was sequentially extracted with sodium hydrosulfite (a reducing agent) and ammonium acetate solutions. Compared with a control treatment using sodium sulfate instead of sodium hydrosulfite, the total RCs extracted by the reducing treatment was 42% lower, indicating that soil reduction decreases RCs exchangeability. Through these analyses of ¹³³Cs and RCs, we conclude that soil flooding influences the mobility of aged RCs through two opposite effects: the release of exchangeable RCs into soil solution is enhanced with increased ammonium, while the exchangeable RCs itself decreases due to soil reduction.     

Varietal difference in radiocesium uptake and transfer from radiocesium deposited soils in the genus Amaranthus

Abstract

Within Amaranthaceae, 33 different varieties, including local varieties from Japan, were grown in 2012 in a field in the town of Iino in the Fukushima prefecture, which is located approximately 51 km north of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP). The contamination level of the soil was 2770 ± 140 Bq kg^?1 dry weight (¹³⁴Cesium (Cs) + ¹³⁷Cs, average ± SE), and the field was also cultivated in 2011. There was a significant varietal difference in the dry weight production, radiocesium accumulation and transfer factor (TF) of radiocesium from the soil to the plant. The ratio of the lowest TF to the highest TF was approximately 3. Because the ratio of ¹³⁷Cs to ¹³³Cs was significantly positive, radiocesium seems to be absorbed in a manner similar to that of ¹³³Cs. It is suggested that the varietal difference in the behavior of radiocesium uptake mainly depends on its genetic background rather than on environmental factors.     

Cesium-137 concentration of forage corn and Italian ryegrass in a double cropping system under different rates of cattle farmyard manure application after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in 2011

Abstract

Radioactive ¹³⁷Cs concentrations of forage corn (Zea mays L.) and Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) in a double cropping system under continuous cattle farmyard manure (FYM) application were observed for more than 2 years after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident in 2011. The experiment field is located 110 km southwest of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, and the soil contains ¹³⁷Cs of 920 Bq kg^?1 on average. For crop cultivation, nitrogen fertilizer was applied in addition to FYM. The ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in corn decreased significantly between 2011 and 2012, but only differed significantly between 2012 and 2013 for the plot with no FYM application. For Italian ryegrass, no significant differences were observed between the harvest in 2012 and 2013 despite the FYM application rate. To minimize corn ¹³⁷Cs concentrations, the FYM application rate should be more than and equal to 30 Mg ha^?1 when FYM is used as the major nutrient source. Exchangeable potassium oxide (K₂O) greater than around 0.3 g kg^?1 was mostly maintained with the FYM application rates. Corn ¹³⁷Cs concentration appeared to increase at exchangeable K₂O levels below 0.15 g kg^?1. These results suggest that continuous FYM application can maintain soil nutrients including K₂O and thereby control radioactive Cs transfer from the soil. FYM application rate of 30 Mg ha^?1 is within the levels recommended by the prefectural governments around Fukushima Prefecture for crop production before the accident. These levels are sufficient to decrease the radioactive Cs concentrations for corn. However, unlike corn, differences in soil chemical properties by FYM application did not affect ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in Italian ryegrass in this study, although low exchangeable K₂O seemed to increase concentrations of stable ¹³³Cs. Further experiments should be conducted to understand the observed differences between corn and Italian ryegrass.     

Transfer factor of radioactive cesium to forage corn (Zea mays L.) from soil to which contaminated farmyard manure had been applied

Abstract

Radioactive cesium (Cs) deposited after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident contaminated farmyard manure (FYM) in the wide area surrounding the plant. We conducted a field trial to determine the transfer factor of radioactive Cs to forage corn (Zea mays L.) from soil to which the contaminated FYM had been applied. The main purpose of this experiment was to examine the behavior of the radioactive Cs from contaminated FYM that was incorporated in agricultural fields. Application of FYM containing 3900 Bq kg^?1 dry matter (DM) of cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) at a rate of 4.3 kg m^?2 increased the ¹³⁷Cs concentration in the soil by 64 Bq kg^?1 dry soil, and in the forage corn by 9.2 Bq kg^?1 DM. Therefore, we calculated the transfer factor to corn plants from the soil after application of contaminated FYM to be 0.14. This value is lower than that observed for soil to which uncontaminated FYM had been applied as a control, and it is within the range of reported soil-to-plant transfer factors of 0.003–0.49 listed in the recent parameter handbook by International Atomic Energy Agency. The increase in the radioactive Cs concentration in the corn plants, expressed as the sum of ¹³⁷Cs and cesium-134 (¹³⁴Cs), was only 3% of the 2012 provisional tolerance level for cattle roughage in Japan. Even though the application of contaminated FYM did not cause a large change in the radioactive Cs concentration in the corn plants in this trial, such application should be carefully controlled because it increased radioactive Cs concentrations in both soil and forage corn.     

Distribution of radioactive cesium in soil and its uptake by herbaceous plants in temperate pastures with different management after the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Station accident

Abstract

The accident at Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) extensively contaminated the agricultural land in the Tohoku region of Japan with radioactive cesium [sum of cesium-134 (¹³⁴Cs) and cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs)]. We evaluated the status of radioactive cesium (Cs) contamination in soil and plants at the Field Science Center of Tohoku University, northern Miyagi prefecture, 150 km north of the NPS. In seven pastures with different management, we examined: (1) the distribution of radioactive Cs in soil, (2) the concentration of radioactive Cs in various herbaceous plant species and (3) the change in radioactive Cs content of plants as they matured. We collected samples of litter, root mat layer (root mat soil and plant roots), and subsurface soil (0–5 cm beneath the root mat) at two to three locations in each pasture in December 2011 and May 2012. The aboveground parts of herbaceous plants (four grasses, two legumes, and one forb species) were collected from May 9 to June 20, 2012, at 14-d intervals, from one to five fixed sampling locations in each pasture. The distribution of radioactive Cs in soil differed among pastures to some degree: a large proportion of radioactive Cs was distributed in the root mat layer. Pasture management greatly influenced the radioactive Cs content of herbaceous plants (p < 0.001); plant species had less influence. Radioactive Cs content was highest (> 3 kBq kg^?1 dry weight) on May 9 and significantly decreased with maturity (p < 0.001) for most of the pastures, whereas it remained low (0.04–0.18 kBq kg^?1 dry weight) throughout the measurement period in the pasture where composted cattle manure was applied. The soil-to-plant transfer factor was negatively correlated to pH(H₂O) (R² = 0.783, p < 0.001) and exchangeable K content (R² = 0.971, p < 0.001) of root mat soils, which suggests that surface application of composted cattle manure reduces plant uptake of radioactive Cs by increasing the exchangeable K content of the soil. The radioactive Cs content of plants decreased with plant maturity; its degree of decrease (May 9 to June 6) was smaller in legumes (80.6%) than grasses (55.5%) and the forb (58.6%). Radioactive Cs content decreased with plant maturity; also, the proportion remaining in the aboveground plant was higher in legumes (80.6%) than grasses (55.5%) and the forb (58.6%).     

Agroecological optimums concerning saturation with calcium of soils contaminated by <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs and <Superscript>90</Superscript>Sr

A close negative correlation between the biological availability of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs for agricultural crops and the content of exchangeable calcium in soils has been revealed in a field experiment performed for soddy-podzolic loamy sandy soil. The efficiency of soil saturation with exchangeable calcium regarding ⁹⁰Sr discrimination is much higher in soils with a low supply of plants with this nutrient. For the bulk of the studied crops, the minimal biological availability of ⁹⁰Sr is registered at 1200–1400 mg/kg (6.0–7.0 mg-equiv./100 g) of the exchangeable calcium content in the soil and that of ¹³⁷Cs is registered at 1000–1100 mg/kg (5.0–5.5 mg-equiv./100 g). The crop productivity varies significantly depending on the exchangeable calcium content in the soil.     

Potassium behavior and clay mineral composition in the soil with low effectiveness of potassium application

ABSTRACT

Increasing exchangeable potassium (ExK) content in soil to an appropriate level is important to mitigate the transfer of radioactive cesium to crops. We focused on a buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) field with a low ExK content, despite the application of K, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan (Field A), following the Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Dai-ichi (No. 1) Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. We examined the relationship between K concentration and clay mineral composition in the soil of Field A and compared the findings with another field in Fukushima Prefecture (Field B) to clarify whether K applied to the soil was leached or remaining fixed. Pot experiments showed that K concentration in water seepage from pots following irrigation was significantly lower in pots from Field A than in those from Field B. Soil ExK content after soybean cultivation was lower in soils of Field A than those of Field B. These results indicate that K applied to Field A was fixed in the soil. Analysis of clay mineral composition confirmed the distinctive vermiculitic nature of Field A soils. This clay mineralogy would be associated with the higher K fixation ability of Field A than Field B soils. This study demonstrated that K fixation in vermiculite was a factor preventing the increase in ExK content from K application to Field A.     

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.     

Cesium-137 Root Uptake by Oat and Lettuce Test Crops from Radioactively Contaminated Chernozem under Model Experiment Conditions

The features of cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) root uptake by spring oat (Avena sativa L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) plants have been studied in a model experiment with simulation of radionuclide fallout into undisturbed monoliths of arable chernozems from the Plavsk radioactive spot. An integrated approach using digital autoradiography and γ-spectrometry methods has revealed a uniform pattern of vertical and lateral ¹³⁷Cs distribution in the soil profile and low bioavailability of the radionuclide or root uptake by plants. Certain biological features of the test crops with respect to root uptake of ¹³⁷Cs have been demonstrated: limited translocation of the element into shoots via its relative accumulation in roots for oats and limitation of general root uptake of ¹³⁷Cs into plants, given its uniform distribution between roots and shoots for lettuce.     

The role of mineralization of the organic matter of soddy-podzolic and peat bog soils in the accumulation of <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs by plants

The role of mineralization of soil organic matter (SOM) in the mobilization of ¹³⁷Cs was estimated on the basis of data on the biokinetic fractionation of the organic matter of soddy-podzolic sandy-loam and peat bog soils and on the coefficients of the soil-to-plant transfer of radiocesium under field conditions. The peat bog soils were richer than the soddy-podzolic soils in the total organic carbon (by 7.9–23.8 times), the potentially mineralizable carbon (by 2.4–6.5 times), and the carbon of the microbial biomass (by 2.9–4.6 times). The agricultural use of the soddy-podzolic and peat bog soils led to a decrease in the SOM mineralization capacity by 1.1–1.8 and 1.4–2.0 times, respectively. Simultaneously, the portions of the easily, moderately, and difficultly mineralizable fraction of the SOM active pool changed. The coefficients of the ¹³⁷Cs transfer from the peat bog soils to plants were 3.3–17.6 times higher than those for the soddy-podzolic soils. The content of ¹³⁷Cs in plants grown on the peat bog soils was 2–65 times higher than that in the mobile (salt-extractable) soil pool by the beginning of the growing season. Strong positive linear correlations were found between the coefficients of the soil-to-plant transfer of ¹³⁷Cs and the total content of the SOM, the content of the microbial biomass, the content of the potentially mineralizable carbon, and the intensity of its mineralization. It was concluded that the decisive factors controlling the intensity of the ¹³⁷Cs transfer from mineral and organic soils into plants are the SOM content and its mineralization potential. The mineralization of the SOM is accompanied by the release of both ¹³⁷Cs and mineral nitrogen; the latter facilitates the transfer of radiocesium into plants.     

Transfer of radiocesium from hydroponic medium to potherb mustard and tomato plants

Abstract

Potherb mustard (Brassica rapa var. nipposinica) and tomato plants (scion, ‘CF Momotaro haruka’; rootstock, ‘Dokutar K’; Solanum lycopersicum) were cultured in hydroponic medium containing cesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) at three different concentrations (0.03, 0.13 and 1.03 Bq L^?1), and uptake of ¹³⁷C into the plants was determined. When the ¹³⁷Cs radioactivity concentration in the medium was 1.03 Bq L^?1, the ¹³⁷Cs radioactivity concentrations in the edible portions of the plants were 4.80 Bq kg^?1 fresh weight for the potherb mustard plants and 3.60 Bq kg^?1 fresh weight for the tomato plants. In both species, the ¹³⁷Cs radioactivity concentration in the edible portions decreased with decreasing ¹³⁷Cs radioactivity concentration in the culture medium. When the ¹³⁷Cs radioactivity concentration in the medium was 0.03 Bq L^?1, a concentration observed in many streams and in tap water in Fukushima Prefecture after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, the ¹³⁷Cs radioactivity concentrations in the edible portions of the plants were 0.50 and 0.15 Bq kg^?1 fresh weight for potherb mustard and tomato plants, respectively. These values are less than the Japanese allowable limit for radiocesium in food. For both species, the transfer factors for ¹³⁷Cs uptake from the culture media to the edible portions and the average transfer rates over the cultivation period were calculated.     

~(137)Cs在土壤中的污染行为与钾盐的防治效果

本研究结果表明 ,在污染水平相同的情况下 ,不同土壤对春小麦吸收137Cs有很大影响 ,植株中137Cs的比活度相差几十倍。在同一种土壤、不同污染水平下 ,春小麦对137Cs的吸收与土壤中137Cs的污染水平呈正相关。在137Cs污染的土壤上施用钾盐可以降低春小麦植株对137Cs的吸收。防治效果与钾盐施用量有关 ,本试验结果为土壤阳离子代换量 1 / 3 0的量施用效果最好 ,使植株中的137Cs比活度降低 84 74%～88 89% ,与不施钾盐的对照组的差异十分显著     

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.     

Radioactive cesium distribution in bamboo [Phyllostachys reticulata (Rupr) K. Koch] shoots after the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster

Abstract

Radioactivity levels of cesium (Cs)-134 and ¹³⁷Cs in bamboo [Phyllostachys reticulata (Rupr) K. Koch] sprouts grown from April to June 2011 over a wide area (including Fukushima Prefecture) were elevated (max. 3100 Bq kg^?1 fresh weight) after the Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster in March 2011. Bamboo sprouts in 2012 also contained high radioactivity levels. Radioactivity imaging analysis of bamboo sprouts harvested in 2012 showed increasing concentration gradients of radioactivity from the lower parts to the top of the sprouts. The peels were individually separated from the sprouts, and the inner edible part (trunk) was cross-sectioned at the internodal sections from the top to the lower parts. Each segmented trunk and its corresponding peel were analyzed for radioactive cesium (¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs) and stable cesium (¹³³Cs). The concentrations of ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs showed significant increases from the lower part to the top, whereas ¹³³Cs showed an almost constant value in the trunk and peel except in the peel of the top node. We speculated that ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs in newly emerging bamboo sprouts in 2012 were translocated mainly from various plant tissues (where the fallout was layered on the bamboo tissues) in older bamboo, while ¹³³Cs was translocated from the soil through the roots of the new bamboo sprouts and was present in the roots and stems.     

施肥措施对水稻吸收~(137)Cs的影响

研究了施用石灰,褐煤和钾肥等对减少＾１３７Ｃｓ在水稻植株中积累的影响。结果表明,施用相当于土壤阳离子代换量１／２０的钾盐,使水稻对＾１３７Ｃｓ的积累比对照组减少３２％以上,随时间变化,这种效应更加显著。     

Effect of the application of polluted wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Thell.) straw during plowing on the transfer of radiocesium from the soil to komatsuna (Brassica rapa L. var. perviridis)

Radioactive substances were released into the environment after the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station; this led to the contamination of the soil at Fukushima Prefecture. Mixing of organic matter with soil during plowing is known to influence radiocesium (¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs) absorption by crops. However, the effect of mixing organic matter polluted by radioactive substances during plowing on radiocesium absorption by plants is not yet known. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect on the radiocesium absorption by komatsuna (Brassica rapa L. var. perviridis) cultivated in a 45-L container containing Andosol (14,300 Bq kg^?1) or Gray Lowland soil (33,500 Bq kg^?1) mixed with polluted wheat (Triticum aestivum L. Thell.) straw (2080 Bq kg^?1). The radiocesium concentration of the plants and the soil and the amount of exchangeable radiocesium in the soil were determined using a germanium semiconductor. The transfer of radiocesium from the soil to plants decreased by 53 and 27% in Andosol and Gray Lowland soil, respectively, after the application of 10 t ha^?1 polluted wheat straw. This reduction in the level of radiocesium transfer might be attributed to potassium contained in the wheat straw, which might compete with cesium during membrane transport and thereby block the transport of cesium from the soil solution to the roots and from the roots to the shoots. Alternatively, the applied wheat straw probably absorbed radiocesium and decreased the amount of exchangeable radiocesium in the soil. Our findings suggest that the mixing of polluted wheat straw with contaminated soil might influence the absorption of radiocesium content by agricultural products. Further studies are warranted to determine the long-term effects of the application of polluted wheat straw on the rate of radiocesium transfer to crops.