137Cs in the fungal compartment of Swedish forest soils

The 137Cs activities in soil profiles and in the mycelia of four ectomycorrhizal fungi were studied in a Swedish forest in an attempt to understand the mechanisms governing the transfer and retention of 137Cs in forest soil. The biomass of four species of fungi was determined and estimated to be 16 g m−2 in a peat soil and 47–189 g m−2 in non-peat soil to the depth of 10 cm. The vertical distribution was rather homogeneous for two species (Tylospora spp. and Piloderma fallax) and very superficial for Hydnellum peckii. Most of the 137Cs activity in mycelium of non-peat soils was found in the upper 5 cm. Transfer factors were quite high even for those species producing resupinate sporocarps. In the peat soil only approximately 0.3% of the total 137Cs inventory in soil was found in the fungal mycelium. The corresponding values for non-peat soil were 1.3, 1.8 and 1.9%.