Long-term effects of potassium chloride, wood ash, and EDTA on Cs soil-plant transfer in a mixed forest of Ukraine.

We conducted a 10-year field experiment to study the effects of potassium chloride, wood ash, zinc, and manganese on reducing Cs uptake by young leaves and green shoots of common dwarf shrubs and tree species near the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. A field experiment had four treatments: a control with no fertilisation, and three fertilised treatments: potassium fertiliser (KCl), a combination of potassium fertiliser and wood ash (KCl + Ash), and a solution providing zinc and manganese (EDTA). There was approximately 30 % decrease in Cs uptake by most of the studied plants species growing on plots fertilised with KCl compared to unfertilised plots during intermediate (2014-2016) and late (2018-2021) periods.

Soil fertilisation with Cs-contaminated and uncontaminated wood ash as a countermeasure to reduce Cs uptake by forest plants.

The purpose of present study was to find out whether wood ash with a high pH value and neutralizing capacity reduces Cs uptake by forest plants many years after the radionuclide fallout. The effects of one-time point fertilisation with Cs-contaminated and uncontaminated wood ash alone or in combination with KCl on Cs transfer from soil to young leaves and green shoots of various dwarf shrubs and tree species were examined in a long-term fertilisation experiment (2012-2021) conducted in Bazar mixed forest, around 70 km from Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The results indicated minor effects of soil fertilisation, although there were differences between Cs uptake by species and years.

The grain storage of wet-deposited caesium and strontium by spring wheat - A modelling study based on a field experiment.

The aims of this study were to extend the Tracey model in order to quantify and to analyse spring wheat's grain storage dynamics of wet-deposited radionuclides. Tracey, a dynamic model of trace element cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, was extended with descriptions of wet-deposition, interception, foliar uptake and radioactive decay. Radionuclide fluxes were set proportional to corresponding water or carbon fluxes, simulated with CoupModel.

Modelling (137)Cs concentrations in moose (1986-2012) from areas highly contaminated by the Chernobyl fallout.

Data from long term annual monitoring of (137)Cs concentrations in harvested moose (Alces alces) were empirically modelled by applying multivariate data analysis that is able to from relatively raw datasets show how the many various impact variables are related (Principal component analysis, PCA). In the later stage regression modelling (Partial least squares, PLS) was applied to analyse which environmental and physiological factors were significant (i.e.

Interception and retention of wet-deposited radiocaesium and radiostrontium on a ley mixture of grass and clover.

The aims of this study were to assess the potential radioactive contamination of fodder in the case of accidental radionuclide fallout, and to analyse the relationship between interception and retention of radionuclides as a function of biomass and Leaf Area Index (LAI). The interception and the retention of wet deposited (134)Cs and (85)Sr in ley (a mixture of grass and clover) were measured after artificial wet deposition in a field trial in Uppsala (eastern central Sweden). The field trial had a randomised block design with three replicates.

Accumulation of wet-deposited radiocaesium and radiostrontium by spring oilseed rape (Brássica napus L.) and spring wheat (Tríticum aestívum L.).

The accumulation of (134)Cs and (85)Sr within different parts of spring oilseed rape and spring wheat plants was investigated, with a particular focus on transfer to seeds after artificial wet deposition at different growth stages during a two-year field trial. In general, the accumulation of radionuclides in plant parts increased when deposition was closer to harvest. The seed of spring oilseed rape had lower concentrations of (85)Sr than spring wheat grain.

Effects of ageing and microbial component on chemical availability of (137)Cs in a long-term experimental site.

A loamy soil contaminated with (137)CsCl 40 years ago was investigated by a sequential extraction technique to determine the effect of ageing on chemical availability of (137)Cs. The soil samples were sequentially extracted with H(2)O, NH(4)Ac, NH(2)OH x HCl, H(2)O(2), and HNO(3). Extractability of (137)Cs decreased in the order: HNO(3) > Residual > H(2)O(2) > NH(4)Ac > NH(2)OH x HCl > H(2)O.

Role of the fungal mycelium in the retention of radiocaesium in forest soils.

The aim of this work was to study possible binding of 137Cs to various organic components in the soil and fungi, by using various sequential extraction procedures. The retention and binding of 137Cs has been studied in two horizons Of/Oh and Ah/B of a Ukrainian forest soil. The exchangeable fractions 137Cs from soil (sum of H2O and 1 M NH4OAc fraction) were found to be 12% in the organic-rich layer (range 11-14%) and 23% in the organic-poor (range 20-29%).