title: Persistence of 137Cs in the litter layers of forest soil horizons of Mount IDA/Kazdagi, Turkey.
abstract: In 2010-2012, an extensive study was performed in forest sites of Mount IDA (Kazdagi)/Edremit 26 years after the Chernobyl accident. The (137)Cs activity concentrations were determined by gamma-ray spectrometry in the forest soil layers (OL, OF + OH and A horizons) separately. Based on 341 surface soil samples and 118 soil profiles, activity concentrations of (137)Cs in OL horizons varied between 0.25 ± 0.14 and 70 ± 1 Bq kg(-1), while the ranges of (137)Cs activity concentrations in OF + OH and A horizons were 13 ± 1-555 ± 3 Bq kg(-1) and 2 ± 1-253 ± 2 Bq kg(-1), respectively. Cesium-137 deposition in the study area was estimated to be in the range of 1-39 kBq m(-2) and a linear relationship between the deposition of (137)Cs and the altitude was observed. The distributions of (137)Cs activities in OL, OF + OH and A horizons throughout the region were mapped in detail. The highest (137)Cs activities were found in OF + OH horizons, with markedly lower (137)Cs activity in mineral horizons of soil profiles. It is observed that (137)Cs content of humus layer increases with the thickness of the humus layer for coniferous forest sites. The (137)Cs activity concentrations were higher than the recommended screening limits (150 Bq kg(-1)) at some of the investigated areas. The current activity concentration of top soil layers indicates that over many years since the initial deposition, (137)Cs activity is keeping still high in the organic horizons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, 35160 Tınaztepe, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: ozlem.karadeniz@deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Özlem
authors.initials: Ö
authors.lastname: Karadeniz
authors.affiliation: South-eastern Anatolian Forestry Research Institute, 23049 Elazığ, Turkey. Electronic address: hkarakurt@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hidayet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karakurt
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics, Institute of Health Sciences, Dokuz Eylül University, 35340 İnciraltı, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: rukiye.cakir@ogr.deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Rukiye
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Çakır
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Imaging Techniques, Vocational School of Health Services, Şifa University, 35370 Buca, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: fatihcoban5311@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Çoban
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Ege University, 35100 Bornova, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: emirbuyukok@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Emir
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Büyükok
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Engineering, Engineering Faculty, Dokuz Eylül University, 35160 Tınaztepe, İzmir, Turkey. Electronic address: cuneyt.akal@deu.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Cüneyt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Akal
mesh_terms: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D065928:Forests; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis; D014421:Turkey
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D012987:Soil; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive
keywords: Cs-137; Forest; Radiological mapping; Soil horizon