Fractionation of caesium (137Cs) in coniferous forest soil in central Sweden

Sequential extraction procedure (SEP) was applied for fractionation of Chernobyl fallout 137Cs bound onto soils of a coniferous forest ecosystem located in central Sweden. Results of sequentially extracted 137Cs fractions demonstrated that 8% (mean value) of the total deposited 137Cs was water soluble (F1) and 13% was NH4OAc extractable (F2). Oxidation of F2 residuals by H2O2 led to a release of 15% of soil-bound 137Cs (F3). Acid digestion of F3 residuals showed a possibility of releasing an extra amount of soil-bound 137Cs, 22% of the total soil 137Cs inventory (F4). These two fractions (F3 and F4) include strongly bound 137Cs that seems to require longer biodegradation processes by soil microflora and microfauna before becoming available for uptake by plants and fungi. More than 37% of the total soil 137Cs inventory was bound onto soil residuals in a non-extractable form that includes slowly degradable organic matter and other soil residual compartments. The distribution coefficient (Kd) was rather low and shows an inverse relation with the increase of percentage of soil organic matter, which indicates a week binding of 137Cs onto forest soil. In contrast, chemical fractionation of soil bound 137Cs showed a substantial fraction of 137Cs was strongly bound onto soil as organically bound 137Cs. Apparently, the binding processes of radiocaesium onto forest soil seems to be time dependent.