Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8081074 | Journal of Environmental Radioactivity | 2016 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Our research, carried out in 2014-2016 at eight sites in the radioactive contaminated territories of Fukushima Prefecture, showed that the young trees of Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) are sensitive to radiation. Irradiation induced cancellation of the apical dominance in this species. The effect is similar to that observed in young trees of Scots pine growing in the Chernobyl zone. At the same time, we did not observed any morphological abnormalities in mature trees of Japanese red pine. The probability of cancelling the apical dominance in Japanese red pine increased to 0.11 and 0.14 in the two less irradiated populations, and to 0.5 and 0.9 at sites were the absorbed dose rates were approximately 14 and 25 μGy hâ1, respectively. Most of the observed abnormalities appeared in the second whorl after the beginning of exposure. No new abnormalities were observed in the fifth whorl. This temporal pattern is similar to those reported for Scots pine in Chernobyl and for Japanese fir in Fukushima. Additional detailed studies are necessary for interpretation of the observed temporal pattern and, in general, for explanation of the mechanism of formation of the morphological abnormalities.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
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Nuclear Energy and Engineering
Authors
Vasyl Yoschenko, Kenji Nanba, Satoshi Yoshida, Yoshito Watanabe, Tsugiko Takase, Natsumi Sato, Koji Keitoku,