Soil-to-plant concentration factor and dependence on soil parameters

Abstract

The soil-to-plant concentration factor of caesium-137 is extremely variable depending on crop type, various interrelated soil parameters and environmental factors. A field study was conducted to determine the concentration factors for principal crops, e.g. potatoes, grain, olives and grass, and soil types of the plains physiographic region of the counties Achaia and Ilia in southwestern Peloponnesus, Greece. Results for 1987, 1988 and 1989 did not show an exponential or linear decline, and the rate at which caesium-137 became unavailable to the crops was small over time. The concentration factor between crops. Results of a statistical analysis between the concentration factor and a number of soil parameters showed that soil pH accounted for the greatest variability in concentration factors.