Mushrooms as biological monitors of trace elements in the environment

Abstract

Mushrooms as a functional system relating to the most important environmental compartments (soil, water, air), may be used advantageously as biological monitors of the state of the environment. In particular the aerial parts of the mushroom (head and stem), because of their rapid growth rate from a few days to a few weeks, could be a useful indicator of fluctuations that may occur in the ecosystem. In this study the levels of fallout radionuclides¹³⁴Cs,¹³⁷Cs, due mostly to the Chernobyl nuclear accident, of natural radionuclide⁴⁰K and of the stable elements Se, Hg, Cr, Cs, Sc, Rb, Zn, Fe, Co, Eu, Sb, Ag, Ce, Ba, Ni present in the head and stem of mushroom samples from an area of the Italian Alps were measured. The analytical technique used was Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and gamma-spectrometry. The results are discussed and possible correlations with other environmental parameters are examined.