title: Potassium fertilization and (137)Cs transfer from soil to grass and barley in Sweden after the Chernobyl fallout.
abstract: Fertilization of soils contaminated by radionuclides with potassium (K) and its effect on (137)Cs transfer from soil to crops is well studied in field conditions; however experiments over many years are few. The effects of potassium fertilization on cesium-137 ((137)Cs) transfer to hay, pasture grass, and barley growing on organic rich soils and mineral sand and loam soils in a number of field experimental sites situated in different environments in Sweden are summarized and discussed. The basic experimental treatments were control (no K fertilizers were applied), 50, 100, and 200 kg K ha(-1). In the experiment, which lasted over 3-6 years, (137)Cs transfer factors in control treatments ranged between 0.0004 m(2) kg(-1) (barley grain on sand soil) and 0.07 m(2) kg(-1) (pasture grass on organic rich soil). Potassium application on soils with low clay content i.e. mineral sand and organic rich soils was effective at the 50-100 kg ha(-1) level. Application of 200 kg K ha(-1) resulted in a five-fold reduction in (137)Cs transfer for hay and up to four-fold for barley grain. The effects of potassium application were generally greater on sand than organic rich soil and were observed already in the first cut. After K application, the reduction in (137)Cs transfer to crops was correlated with (137)Cs:K ratios in plant material. Additional application of zeolite caused a 1.4 reduction of (137)Cs transfer to hay on sand and 1.8-fold reduction on organic rich soil; whereas, application of potash-magnesia and CaO had no effect.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7014, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rosén
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil and Environment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7014, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Ecology, Zhytomyr State Technological University, 103 Chernyakhovsky Str., 10005 Zhytomyr, Ukraine. Electronic address: Mykhailo.Vinichuk@slu.se.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vinichuk
mesh_terms: D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D002586:Cesium / Q000378:metabolism*; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D005308:Fertilizers; D001467:Hordeum / Q000378:metabolism; D010087:Oxides / Q000378:metabolism; D006109:Poaceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism*; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012621:Seasons; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000378:metabolism*; D013548:Sweden; D017641:Zeolites / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017610:Calcium Compounds; D005308:Fertilizers; D010087:Oxides; D011847:Radioactive Fallout; D012987:Soil; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive; D017641:Zeolites; D002586:Cesium; C016538:lime; D011188:Potassium
keywords: Countermeasures; Pasture grass; Potassium; Radiocesium; Soil