Time-dependency of the 137Cs contamination of wild boar from a region in Southern Germany in the years 1998 to 2008.

Following the Chernobyl accident, (137)Cs contamination levels of wild boar in some districts of Southern Germany are still exceeding thousands of Bq kg(-1). While the long term (137)Cs concentration in forest plants, mushrooms, and roe deer meat has decreased significantly, for wild boar it has remained constant during the last decade. Between 1998 and 2008, we analysed the muscle meat of 656 wild boars shot in the district ("Landkreis") Ravensburg.

Transfer parameter values in temperate forest ecosystems: a review.

Compared to agricultural lands, forests are complex ecosystems as they can involve diverse plant species associations, several vegetative strata (overstorey, shrubs, herbaceous and other annual plant layer) and multi-layered soil profiles (forest floor, hemi-organic and mineral layers). A high degree of variability is thus generally observed in radionuclide transfers and redistribution patterns in contaminated forests. In the long term, the soil compartment represents the major reservoir of radionuclides which can give rise to long-term plant and hence food contamination.