Time trends (1986-2003) of radiocesium transfer to roe deer and wild boar in two Austrian forest regions.

Starting shortly after the Chernobyl accident, samples of roe deer and wild boar from two comparatively highly contaminated Austrian forest stands have been regularly analysed for (137)Cs. Until 1995 average (137)Cs concentrations exceeded 1000 Bq kg(-1) in both roe deer and wild boar. Long-term and seasonal trends are similar in both investigation sites. While (137)Cs aggregated transfer factor (T(ag)) values show a significant decreasing trend in roe deer (ecological half-time 8.6 and 7.2 years, respectively), T(ag)-values in wild boar are highly variable, but rather increasing values are observed over the last years. T(ag)-values for roe deer are between 0.04 and 0.008 m(2)kg(-1) fresh weight (1987-2003); values for wild boar are between 0.008 m(2)kg(-1) (1988) and 0.046 m(2)kg(-1) (1996) fresh weight. Seasonal trends for both species are in good agreement with observations from German forests: increased mushroom ingestion leads to higher (137)Cs T(ag)-values for roe deer in the second half of the year (August-December) compared to the first half (January-July). T(ag)-values for wild boar are highest in the first half of the year.