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The distribution of (137)Cs, K, Rb and Cs in plants in a Sphagnum-dominated peatland in eastern central Sweden
Identifier
018265
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Caesium-137 (137
55Cs, Cs-137), cesium-137, or radiocaesium, is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed as one of the more common fission products by the nuclear fission of uranium-235 and other fissionable isotopes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. It is among the most problematic of the short-to-medium-lifetime fission products because it easily moves and spreads in nature due to the high water solubility of caesium's most common chemical compounds, which are salts.
Calluna vulgaris is known as common heather, ling, or simply heather
Vaccinium oxycoccos is cranberry
Andromeda polifolia, common name bog-rosemary, is a species of flowering plant native to northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere. It is the only member of the genus Andromeda, and is only found in bogs in cold peat-accumulating areas
Eriophorum vaginatum L. is cotton grass a species of perennial herbaceous plant in the family Cyperaceae, native to bogs and other acidic wetlands
A description of the experience
J Environ Radioact. 2010 Feb;101(2):170-6. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2009.10.003. Epub 2009 Nov 3.
The distribution of (137)Cs, K, Rb and Cs in plants in a Sphagnum-dominated peatland in eastern central Sweden.
Vinichuk M1, Johanson KJ, Rydin H, Rosén K.
- 1Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, P.O. Box 7014, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. mykhailo.vinichuk@mark.slu.se
Abstract
We record the distribution of (137)Cs, K, Rb and Cs within individual Sphagnum plants (down to 20cm depth) as well as (137)Cs in vascular plants growing on a peatland in eastern central Sweden.
In Calluna vulgaris(137)Cs was mainly located within the green parts, whereas Andromeda polifolia, Eriophorum vaginatum and Vaccinium oxycoccos showed higher (137)Cs activity in roots.
Carex rostrata and Menyanthes trifoliata showed variable distribution of (137)Cs within the plants. The patterns of (137)Cs activity concentration distribution as well as K, Rb and Cs concentrations within individual Sphagnum plants were rather similar and were usually highest in the capitula and/or in the subapical segments and lowest in the lower dead segments, which suggests continuous relocation of those elements to the actively growing apical part.
The (137)Cs and K showed relatively weak correlations, especially in capitula and living green segments (0-10cm) of the plant (r=0.50). The strongest correlations were revealed between (137)Cs and Rb (r=0.89), and between (137)Cs and stable Cs (r=0.84). This suggests similarities between (137)Cs and Rb in uptake and relocation within the Sphagnum, but that (137)Cs differs from K.
Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PMID: 19889484