Radiostrontium uptake by plants from different soil types in Kazakhstan

The transfer of Sr-90 to a range of different plant species grown on a range of different soil types in Kazakhstan, including three from the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS), has been measured in a lysimeter experiment. Sr-90 uptake by Stipa spp was significantly higher than for other vegetation species. The uptake of Sr-90 from chemozem was significantly lower than that from the other soil types which is consistent with other literature. There was a significant negative relationship between Sr-90 uptake and calcium, humus and CEC concentration in the soil for Agropyrum spp, Artemisia spp but not for Stipa spp or Bromus spp. The transfer to vegetation from soil has been quantified using the aggregated transfer coefficients for each species. Tag values range from 0.6 to 11.9 m(2) kg(-1) X 10(-3) over all measurements. The transfer of Sr-90 to plants from the Kazakh soils was low compared to previously reported data and to that given from literature reviews. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved