Estimation of radiocesium transfer from the canopy to the forest floor in Japanese konara oak stands of the Abukuma Mountains, Fukushima

Niizato, Tadafumi  ; Sasaki, Yoshito ; Amamiya, Hiroki*; Yoshida, Kaori* ; Kimiyama, Kazuhiro*

Of the radioactive materials released from the TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident, it is necessary to monitor Cs-137 distribution and effects over the long term because of its long half-life of approximately 30 years. In this study, monitoring of Cs-137 transfer from the forest canopy to the forest floor in the forested mountainous area were carried out in several forest areas in the Abukuma Mountains of Fukushima Prefecture, where the geographical conditions such as rainfall, tree density and tree species are almost the same. The results indicated that the amount of Cs-137 transfer by litterfall, stemflow and rainfall in the forests differ in each forested area, depending on the initial deposition and chemical form of Cs-137 in the forest.