Contamination processes of tree components in Japanese forest ecosystems affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident 137Cs fallout

Abstract

In forests affected by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, trees became contaminated with 137Cs. However, 137Cs transfer processes determining tree contamination (particularly for stem wood, a prominent commercial resource) remain insufficiently understood. We propose a model for simulating dynamic behavior of 137Cs in a forest tree–litter–soil system and applied it to contaminated forests of cedar plantation and natural oak stand in Fukushima to elucidate relative impact of distinct 137Cs transfer processes determining the tree contamination. The transfer of 137Cs to the trees occurred mostly (>99%) through surface uptake of 137Cs trapped by needles and bark during the fallout. Root uptake of soil 137Cs was several orders of magnitude lower than the surface uptake over a 50-year period following the accident. As a result, internal contamination of the trees proceeded through an enduring recycling (translocation) of 137Cs absorbed on the tree surface. A significant surface uptake of 137Cs through bark was suggested, contributing to 100% (leafless oak tree) and 30% (foliated cedar tree; the remaining uptake occurred at needles) of the total uptake by the trees, although that pathway still needs to be evaluated by experimental evidence. It was suggested that the activity concentration of 137Cs in stem wood of the trees at these sites are currently (as of 2021) decreasing by ~3% per year, mainly through radioactive decay of 137Cs and partly through dilution effect from tree growth. Although further refinement of the model is recommended, for example by including tree species specific 137Cs transportation in stem, these findings provide vital information for planning of forestry reactivation in Fukushima; e.g., removal of forest floor organic layer will not reduce the tree contamination for a long term because of the 137Cs absorption via the tree surface substantially greater than root uptake of 137Cs deposited to the floor.