Uptake and accumulation of 137Cs by upland grassland soil fungi: a potential pool of Cs immobilization
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Jan M. Poskitt; John Dighton; G. M. Clint
- Source
- Mycological Research. 95:1052-1056
- Subject
- geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
Hypha
Ecology
Plant Science
Soil fungi
Biology
humanities
Grassland
Environmental chemistry
Radioactive contamination
Genetics
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Biotechnology
- Language
- ISSN
- 0953-7562
Reports of high concentrations of fallout radiocaesium in basidiomycete fruit bodies after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident and speculation that fungi could be long-term 137 Cs accumulators led us to ask if fungi could be long-term 137 Cs accumulators. We used six common upland grassland species to try to estimate their importance in the immobilization of 137 Cs. Uptake of Cs by these species ranged from 44 to 235 nmol Cs g −1 d.w. h −1 . Efflux studies indicate that more than 40% of the Cs taken up is bound within the hyphae. We estimate that the fungal component of the soil could immobilize the total radiocaesium fallout received in upland grasslands following the Chernobyl accident.