Effects on environmental dynamics of radiocesium related to the wildfire in mountainous forest of the Abukuma Mountains, Fukushima

Niizato, Tadafumi  ; Sasaki, Yoshito ; Watanabe, Takayoshi ; Mitachi, Katsuaki*; Ito, Satomi; Kuramoto, Takayuki*; Arai, Hirotsugu*; Nomura, Naoki*; Hayashi, Seiji*; Tamaoki, Masanori*

Cs released from the TEPCO's Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident has a long half-life of about 30 years, it is necessary to monitor the distribution and its radioecological impact over the long term. Mountainous forests, which accounts for about 70% of Fukushima prefecture, tend to be a sink of radiocesium contamination rather than a source for the contamination of other ecosystems. An understanding of the environmental dynamics of radiocesium in the forest floor of various conditions is important issue, while progressing to the resident return. In this paper, we report on the results of the field investigation into the Cs distribution and the Cs outflow in the mountainous forest of Fukushima, where the wildfire broke out in the spring of 2017.