Movement of 137Cs by Runoff, Erosion and Infiltration on the Alluvial Captina Silt Loam

Abstract

Five millicuries of 137Cs were applied in the form of spray to the 5-m2 plots of Captina soil in Tennessee under bare, clipped meadow, and tall meadow cover conditions. During the initial 81-day period agreement was observed between predicted and experimental soil loss. A linear relationship on a full log scale was found between the soil and 137Cs loss. On the plots with vegetation, it was found that practically all of the 137Cs applied to the areas covered with vegetation was initially on the plant and litter material. The leaching of 137Cs from the vegetation began to level off towards the end of the study period (20.5 cm of rain). At the end of the 81-day period, the bare plot had lost 11.9 per cent of the cesium while the clipped meadow and tall meadow plots had lost 5.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent of their cesium, respectively.