40K/ 137Cs discrimination ratios to the aboveground organs of tropical plants

Abstract

In the present work, the accumulation of caesium and potassium in aboveground plant parts was studied in order to improve the understanding on the behaviour of monovalent cations in several compartments of tropical plants. We present the results for activity concentrations of 137Cs and 40K, measured by gamma spectrometry, from five tropical plant species: guava ( Psidium guajava), mango ( Mangifera indica), papaya ( Carica papaya), banana ( Musa paradisíaca), and manioc ( Manihot esculenta). Caesium and potassium have shown a high level of mobility within the plants, exhibiting the highest values of concentration in the growing parts (fruits, leaves, twigs, and barks) of the woody fruit and large herbaceous shrub (such as manioc) species. In contrast, the banana and papaya plants exhibited the lowest levels of 137Cs and 40K in their growing parts. However, a significant correlation between activity concentrations of 137Cs and 40K was observed in these tropical plants. The 40K/ 137Cs discrimination ratios were approximately equal to unity in different compartments of each individual plant, suggesting the possibility of using caesium to predict the behaviour of potassium in several tropical species.