Effectiveness of decontamination by litter removal in Japanese forest ecosystems affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident.

ABSTRACT: The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident caused serious radiocesium (¹³⁷Cs) contamination of forest ecosystems over a wide area. The removal of the forest floor litter layer has been considered a potential method for forest decontamination; however, its effectiveness remains largely unknown. We conducted a pilot-scale decontamination study in a deciduous broadleaved forest in Fukushima. The entire forest was decontaminated by removing the litter layer in July 2014, approximately 3.3 years after the accident, with the exception of two untreated plots. For three years after decontamination, we quantified ¹³⁷Cs contamination levels in the litter and topsoil layers and in the tree leaves, in the untreated and decontaminated areas. The decreased inventories of li

SUBMITTER: Koarashi J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7171154 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature