[The biogeochemistry of the radionuclides of the Chernobyl release in the forest ecosystems of the European portion of the CIS].

The 9-years dynamic of Chernobyl-derived radionuclides in the vegetation and soil covers of the forest ecosystems of the European part of the CIS is considered. The quantitative estimation has been done for main fluxes of Cs-137 in the forests of automorphic landscapes: influx to the vegetation, return with the litterfall, stem flow and throughfall, vertical migration in the soil profile (including intrasoil flow), and redistribution within the system of geochemically connected landscapes.

Chemical forms of gamma-emitting radionuclides in soils adjacent to the Chernobyl NPP.

Samples of sandy forest soils, meadow sandy-peat soil and meadow sandy-loam soil were taken at different sites within a 30-km zone around the Chernobyl NPP (ChNPP). The samples were extracted with water and a 0.1-N solution of ammonium acetate.

Vertical radionuclide transfer by infiltration water in forest soils in the 30-km Chernobyl accident zone.

Vertical intrasoil flow within the 30-km zone of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (ChNPP) was investigated by a lysimetric method in 1989-1990. The regularity of radionuclide migration within the flow has been found to be dependent on the contamination density, the type of radionuclide, and the type of ecosystem and depth.