Different cesium-137 transfers to forest and stream ecosystems

Sakai, Masaru; Gomi, Takashi; Negishi, Junjiro N.; Iwamoto, Aimu; Okada, Kengo

Different cesium-137 transfers to forest and stream ecosystems

2016

Sakai, Masaru | Gomi, Takashi | Negishi, Junjiro N. | Iwamoto, Aimu | Okada, Kengo

Understanding the mechanisms of ¹³⁷Cs movement across different ecosystems is crucial for projecting the environmental impact and management of nuclear contamination events. Here, we report differential movement of ¹³⁷Cs in adjacent forest and stream ecosystems. The food webs of the forest and stream ecosystems in our study were similar, in that they were both dominated by detrital-based food webs and the basal energy source was terrestrial litter. However, the concentration of ¹³⁷Cs in stream litter was significantly lower than in forest litter, the result of ¹³⁷Cs leaching from litter in stream water. The difference in ¹³⁷Cs concentrations between the two types of litter was reflected in the ¹³⁷Cs concentrations in the animal community. While the importance of ¹³⁷Cs fallout and the associated transfer to food webs has been well studied, research has been primarily limited to cases in a single ecosystem. Our results indicate that there are differences in the flow of ¹³⁷Cs through terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and that ¹³⁷Cs concentrations are reduced in both basal food resources and higher trophic animals in aquatic systems, where primary production is subsidized by a neighboring terrestrial ecosystem.

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