Upward mobilization of 137Cs in surface soils of Chamaecyparis obtusa Sieb. et Zucc. (hinoki) plantation in Japan.

The use of 137Cs has recently been adopted to estimate erosion in hinoki plantations in Japan. However, there have been several reports of the upward mobilization of 137Cs in forest humus layers. In this study, the vertical distribution of 137Cs within the soil profile was measured in a hinoki plantation. In order to confirm the upward migration of 137Cs from mineral soil to fresh surface litter and to identify mechanisms of the transfer, changes in 137Cs specific activity in the contents of litterbags were examined in a hinoki plantation. A controlled laboratory experiment was also conducted to assess the effect of microbial activity on the upward migration of 137Cs. As a result, the higher 137Cs activities in the surface organic layer of a hinoki plantation than in fresh litter and the increasing 137Cs total content of litterbags with time demonstrated the upward mobilization of 137Cs from mineral soil to the surface organic layer. Physical movement of soil particles by raindrop splash was considered an important process in 137Cs upward migration. The results of our laboratory experiment indicate an influence from soil microbial activity on the upward mobilization of 137Cs. Thus, upward migration of 137Cs and constant litter removal by runoff may induce 137Cs loss from steep forested catchments and underestimation of the 137Cs inventory leading to the overestimation of soil redistribution rates.