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Beryllium-7 interception by cultivated plants on the slopes of the Yangtze river delta

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Abstract

The radionuclide, beryllium-7 (7Be) has been widely used as a nuclear trace element to study surface soil particle migration and identify sediment sources in short-term processes. In this study, we measured 7Be concentration in vegetation and its interception (7Be deposition intercepted by vegetation) and absorption from the atmosphere on the slopes of the Yangtze river delta. We report the concentrations of 7Be were highest in dry plants and lower in cultivated crops. 7Be interception amounts varied greatly among different plant species, with an average interception ratio of 7Be plant inventories to soil deposition of 13 ± 8%. There is a significant positive correlation between biomass and 7Be interception in natural and wild plants. The depositional 7Be was redistributed by the covering vegetation. This study provides an important basis for using 7Be as a tracer for soil erosion under vegetation cover.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. The data included in this study are available upon request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Yehan Yan and Matthew Peck for language editing.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant Number 41103047 and the Natural Science Research Project of Anhui Higher Education, Grant Number KJ2014A280.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Resources, Environmental and Tourism Management, West Anhui University, Chinese, Lu’an, 237012, Anhui, China

    Benjun Yang & Hua Long

  2. School of Geographical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Chinese, Nanjing, 210023, Jiangsu, China

    Benjun Yang, Mingli Zhang & Hao Yang

  3. School of Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Chinese, Nanjing, 211171, China

    Xiaolei Wang

  4. School of Geographic and Biologic Information, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Jingsong Chen

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  1. Benjun Yang
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  2. Xiaolei Wang
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  3. Hua Long
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  4. Mingli Zhang
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  6. Hao Yang
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Correspondence to Benjun Yang.

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Yang, B., Wang, X., Long, H. et al. Beryllium-7 interception by cultivated plants on the slopes of the Yangtze river delta. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 328, 1069–1076 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07700-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-021-07700-4

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