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Activity concentrations of natural radionuclides and 137Cs in soils of coniferous forest sites in West Anatolia

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Abstract

The surveys of natural gamma-emitting radionuclides and 137Cs in surface soils of coniferous forest sites in and around Izmir were conducted during 2003–2004. The soil samples were collected from three different depths of 15 forest sites, particularly local wild edible mushrooms areas. The average activity concentrations and ranges of the natural radionuclides in the soils were as follows: 30 (14–51) Bq kg−1 of 226Ra; 40 (17–79) Bq kg−1 of 232Th; and 581 (308–879) Bq kg−1 of 40K. Moreover, the values of 137Cs activity concentrations averaged over the depth sections varied from 20 to 82 Bq kg−1 with a mean value of 52 Bq kg−1. Accordingly, the levels of the studied natural radionuclides in the forest soils were within the range specified by UNSCEAR (2000) report for regular soils as well as the agricultural soils from the West Anatolia, while the measured activity levels of 137Cs in the forest soils were still high in contrast to agricultural soils after 16 years from the deposition of Chernobyl fallout.

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Acknowledgments

Grateful thanks are offered to the provider of financial support for the research presented here: Ege University Scientific Research Project (Project no: 2003 NBE 006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physics Department, Faculty of Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, 35160, Tınaztepe, Izmir, Turkey

    Özlem Karadeniz

  2. Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Ege University, 35100, Bornova, Izmir, Turkey

    Günseli Yaprak

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  1. Özlem Karadeniz
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  2. Günseli Yaprak
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Correspondence to Özlem Karadeniz.

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Communicated by R. Matyssek.

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Karadeniz, Ö., Yaprak, G. Activity concentrations of natural radionuclides and 137Cs in soils of coniferous forest sites in West Anatolia. Eur J Forest Res 130, 271–276 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-010-0428-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-010-0428-6

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