title: Establishment of control site baseline data for erosion studies using radionuclides: a case study in East Slovenia.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to establish a reference site and its soil characteristics for use of fallout radionuclides in erosion studies in Slovenia. Prior to this study, no reference site and baseline data existed for Slovenia for this purpose. In the agricultural area of Goricko in East Slovenia, an undisturbed forest situated in Salamenci (46 degrees 44'N, 16 degrees 7'E), was selected to establish the inventory value of fallout 137Cs and to establish a baseline level of multi-elemental fingerprint (major, minor, trace elements including heavy metals) and naturally occurring radionuclides in soils. A total of 20 soil profiles were collected at four 10 cm depth increments for evaluation of baseline level of 137Cs inventory. An exponential distribution for 137Cs was found and the baseline level inventory was established at 7300 +/- 2500 Bq m-2 with a coefficient of variation of 34%. Of this mean present-day inventory, approximately 45% is due to the Chernobyl contribution. The physical degradation of soils through erosion is linked with biochemical degradation. This study introduces an approach to establishment of the naturally occurring radionuclide and elemental fingerprints baseline levels at a reference site which can provide comparative data to those from neighbouring agricultural fields for assessment of soil redistribution magnitude using fallout radionuclides. In addition, this information will be used to determine the impact of soil erosion processes and agricultural practices on soil quality and redistribution within agricultural landscapes in Slovenia.
authors.affiliation: Soil Science Unit, FAO/IAEA Agriculture & Biotechnology Laboratory, IAEA Laboratories Seibersdorf, PO Box 100, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. L.Mabit@iaea.org
authors.forename: Lionel
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mabit
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Patcharin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jankong
authors.forename: Arsenio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toloza
authors.forename: Roman
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Padilla-Alvarez
authors.forename: Vesna
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Zupanc
mesh_terms: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011847:Radioactive Fallout / Q000032:analysis*; D011868:Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D017524:Slovenia; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D011868:Radioisotopes; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive