Abstract
Radiocesium transfer to plants immediately after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident was investigated by collecting soil and newly emerged leaf samples between May 2011 and November 2012 from 20 sites in the Fukushima Prefecture. Autoradiograph images indicated that woody plants tend to accumulate radiocesium in their newly emerged leaves than herbaceous plants due to translocation-deposited radiocesium on old stems and/or leaves. Radiocesium uptake by plants was evaluated by ratios of the radiocesium concentration in plant to that in soil (concentration ratio, CR). Although the CR values decreased in 2012, CR values of woody plants remain high compared to that of herbaceous plants. Exchangeable 137Cs rates in soil (extraction rate) were measured at five sites, and these rates decreased at four sites in 2012 and depended on environmental conditions and soil type. Both CR values and extraction rates decreased in 2012; however, CR values reflected the changes in not only extraction rates but also characteristics of each species. Amaranthaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Polygonaceae, which had been identified as Cs accumulators, presented no clear 137Cs accumulation ability. In 2012, the perennial plant Houttuynia cordata and deciduous trees Chengiopanax sciadophylloides and Acer crataegifolium displayed high CR values, indicating that these species are 137Cs accumulators.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Broadley MR, Willey NJ (1997) Differences in root uptake of radiocaesium by 30 plant taxa. Environ Pollut 97:11–15
Broadley M, Willey NJ, Mead A (1999) A method to assess taxonomic variation in shoot caesium concentration among flowering plants. Environ Pollut 106:341–349
Chino M, Nakayama H, Nagai H, Terada H, Katata G, Yamazawa H (2011) Preliminary estimation of release amounts of 131I and 137Cs accidentally discharged from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the atmosphere. J Nucl Sci Technol 48:1129–1134
Deguchi S, Matsuda Y, Takenaka C, Sugiura Y, Ozawa H, Ogata Y (2017) Proposal of a new method of colonization rate or arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the root of Chengiopanax sciadophylloides. Mycobio 45(1):15–19
Dushenkov S, Mikheev A, Prokhnevsky A, Ruchko M, Sorochinsky B (1999) Phytoremediation of radiocesium-contaminated soil in the vicinity of Chernobyl, Ukraine. Environ Sci Technol 33:469–475
Ehlken S, Kirchner G (2002) Environmental processes affecting plant root uptake of radioactive trace elements and variability of transfer factor data: a review. J Environ Radioact 58:97–112
Forest Agency (2014) Forest products and radioactive materials – toward the revival of forest and forestry of Fukushima – [published in Japanese]. For For Prod Res Inst
Fuhrmann M, Lasat M, Ebbs S, Cornish J, Kochian L (2003) Uptake and release of cesium-137 by five plant species as influenced by soil amendments in field experiments. J Environ Qual 32:2272–2279
Hasegawa H, Tsukada H, Kawabata H, Chikuchi Y, Takaku Y, Hisamatsu S (2009) Effect of the counter anion of cesium on foliar uptake and translocation. J Environ Radioact 100:54–57
Hirose K (2016) Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident: atmospheric and oceanic impacts over the five years. J Environ Radioact 157:113–130
Iijima K (2015) Status of the researches on the behavior in the environment of radioactive cesium transported from forests to river systems. Chikyukagaku (Geochemistry) 49:203–215
JAEA (2015) Long-term assessment of transport of radioactive contaminant in the environment of Fukushima [published in Japanese] [WWW Document]. Japan At Energy Agency. http://fukushima.jaea.go.jp/initiatives/cat01/pdf/project.pdf
Kamei-Ishikawa N, Uchida S, Tagami K (2008) Distribution coefficients for 85Sr and 137Cs in Japanese agricultural soils and their correlations with soil properties. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 277:433–439
Kanasashi T, Sugiura Y, Takenaka C, Hijii N, Umemura M (2015) Radiocesium distribution in sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) in Eastern Japan: translocation from needles to pollen. J Environ Radioact 139:398–406
Kitamura A, Yamaguchi M, Kurikami H, Yui M, Onishi Y (2014) Predicting sediment and cesium-137 discharge from catchments in eastern Fukushima. Anthropocene 5:22–31
Kobayashi T, Nagai H, Chino M, Kawamura H (2013) Source term estimation of atmospheric release due to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident by atmospheric and oceanic dispersion simulations. J Nucl Sci Technol 50:255–264
Lasat MM, Fuhrmann M, Ebbs SD, Cornish JE, Kochian LV (1998) Phytoremediation of a radiocesium-contaminated soil: evaluation of cesium-137 bioaccumulation in the shoots of three plant species. J Environ Qual 27:165–169
Memon AR, Itô S, Yatazawa M (1979) Absorption and accumulation of iron, manganese and copper in plants in the temperate forest of Central Japan. Soil Sci Plant Nutr 25:611–620
MHLW (2015) Information on the great east Japan earthquake [WWW Document]. Minist. Heal. Welf. Labor. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/shinsai_jouhou/shokuhin.html
Mimura T, Mimura M, Kobayashi D, Komiyama C, Sekimoto H, Miyamoto M, Kitamura A (2014) Radioactive pollution and accumulation of radionuclides in wild plants in Fukushima. J Plant Res 127:5–10
Mizuno T, Asahina R, Hosono A, Tanaka A, Senoo K, Obata H (2008) Age-dependent manganese hyperaccumulation in Chengiopanax sciadophylloides (Araliaceae). J Plant Nutr 31:1811–1819
NRA (2014) Monitoring information of environmental radioactivity level [published in Japanese]. Nucl Regul Soc
Sakamoto F, Ohnuki T, Kozai N, Igarashi S, Yamasaki S, Yoshida Z, Tanaka S (2012) Local area distribution of fallout radionuclides from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant determined by autoradiography analysis. Trans At Energy Soc Japan 11:1–7
Sawidis T, Drossos E, Heinrich G, Papastefanou C (1990) Cesium-137 accumulation in higher plants before and after Chernobyl. Environ Int 16:163–169
Sugiura Y, Kanasashi T, Ogata Y, Ozawa H, Takenaka C (2016) Radiocesium accumulation properties of Chengiopanax sciadophylloides. J Environ Radioact 151:250–257
Tagami K, Uchida S, Ishii N, Kagiya S (2012) Translocation of radiocesium from stems and leaves of plants and the effect on radiocesium concentrations in newly emerged plant tissues. J Environ Radioact 111:65–69
Takeda A, Tsukada H, Nakao A, Takaku Y, Hisamatsu S (2013) Time-dependent changes of phytoavailability of Cs added to allophanic andosols in laboratory cultivations and extraction tests. J Environ Radioact 122:29–36
Tsukada H, Hasegawa H (2002) Soil-to-plant transfer of 137Cs and other essential and trace elements in cabbage plants. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 252:219–224
Tsukada H, Nakamura Y (1999) Transfer of 137Cs and stable Cs from soil to potato in agricultural fields. Sci Total Environ 228:111–120
Vinichuk M, Mårtensson A, Ericsson T, Rosén K (2013a) Effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on 137Cs uptake by plants grown on different soils. J Environ Radioact 115:151–156
Vinichuk M, Mårtensson A, Rosén K (2013b) Inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizae does not improve 137Cs uptake in crops grown in the Chernobyl region. J Environ Radioact 126:14–19
Yamaguchi N, Takada Y, Hayashi K, Ishikawa S, Kuramata M, Eguchi S, Yoshikawa S, Sakaguchi A, Asada K, Wagai R, Makino T, Akahane I, Hiradate S (2012) Behavior of radiocaesium in soil-plant and its controlling factor [published in Japanese]. Bull Natl Inst Agro-Environmental Sci 31:75–129
Yamaji K, Nagata S, Haruma T, Ohnuki T, Kozaki T, Watanabe N, Nanba K (2016) Root endophytic bacteria of a 137Cs and Mn accumulator plant, Eleutherococcus sciadophylloides, increase 137Cs and Mn desorption in the soil. J Environ Radioact 153:112–119
Yamashita J, Enomoto T, Yamada M, Ono T, Hanafusa T, Nagamatsu T, Sonoda S, Yamamoto Y (2014) Estimation of soil-to-plant transfer factors of radiocesium in 99 wild plant species grown in arable lands 1 year after the Fukushima 1 nuclear power plant accident. J Plant Res 127:11–22
Zhu YG, Smolders E (2000) Plant uptake of radiocaesium: a review of mechanisms, regulation and application. J Exp Bot 51:1635–1645
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Appendices
Appendices
1.1 Appendix 1: Cesium-137 Concentration of Plant Leaves and Its Concentration Ratio (CR) in 2011
1.2 Appendix 2: Cesium-137 Concentration of Plant Leaves and Its Concentration Ratio (CR) in 2012
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sugiura, Y., Takenaka, C. (2019). Uptake of Radiocesium by Plants. In: Takenaka, C., Hijii, N., Kaneko, N., Ohkubo, T. (eds) Radiocesium Dynamics in a Japanese Forest Ecosystem. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8606-0_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-8606-0_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-8605-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-8606-0
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)