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137Cs loss via soil erosion from a mountainous headwater catchment in central Japan
Eroded sediment and coarse organic material were sampled for a year at the outlet of the study catchment in central Japan to investigate characteristics of 137Cs loss and to quantify erosional 137Cs loss in a forested headwater catchment. Results showed that loss of both eroded sediment and 137Cs va...
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Published in: | The Science of the total environment 2005-11, Vol.350 (1), p.238-247 |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Eroded sediment and coarse organic material were sampled for a year at the outlet of the study catchment in central Japan to investigate characteristics of
137Cs loss and to quantify erosional
137Cs loss in a forested headwater catchment. Results showed that loss of both eroded sediment and
137Cs varied markedly according to the magnitude of rainfall events. About 90% of the total sediment delivery and the total
137Cs loss was associated with only two storm rainfall events. The significant contribution of high-magnitude–low-frequency storm events to
137Cs loss from the catchment was emphasized. To quantify the contribution of erosional
137Cs loss to
137Cs cycling, the current mean
137Cs inventory of the study catchment was estimated from direct measurements of
137Cs in soil cores collected from 27 points. The input of
137Cs through litterfall to the soil was estimated from monitoring the annual litterfall of the study catchment. The present
137Cs fallout input was estimated from published
137Cs fallout data. Consequently, the loss of
137Cs associated with eroded sediment was estimated to represent 0.013% of the
137Cs inventory of the study catchment, which is comparable to the input through litterfall. The equivalent value for
137Cs runoff with coarse organic material was estimated as 0.0003%. Therefore, the effect of
137Cs loss in association with coarse organic material on estimates of erosion rate obtained by measuring
137Cs inventories in soil core samples was inferred to be negligible in Japanese cypress plantations. Results confirm the applicability of
137Cs measurements to estimate erosion rates in other relatively stable forested areas. |
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ISSN: | 0048-9697 1879-1026 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.01.046 |