3.1. Introduction to Radioecology of the Agricultural Ecosystem

Abstract

This chapter provides an introduction to radioecology of the agricultural ecosystem. The main objective of this chapter is to obtain better qualitative knowledge about the transport and uptake of radioisotopes in different agricultural ecosystems as the Chernobyl fallout. An important factor is the effect of the different agricultural parameters on the uptake of radiocaesium by the roots. The long-term behavior of radiocaesium in the different Nordic ecosystems, and the sensitivity of different ecosystems to direct fallout, is of importance. The structure of the productive and the unproductive parts of the Nordic countries total area, and the structure of the production of different crops and animals are discussed. The research after the nuclear weapons testing was connected mainly to intensive agriculture production and the lichen-reindeer food chain. Less attention was given to cattle and sheep grazing on uncultivated land, or to studies of the long-term behavior of radiocaesium in the soil and the transfer of activity from soil to plants and further to animals after a single fallout.