Seasonal and regional variations in the transfer of cesium radionuclides from soil to roe deer and plants in a prealpine forest

The surveillance of roe deer contamination with cesium radionuclides in the rural prealpine area of Oberschwaben in south-west Germany since autumn 1986 revealed characteristic regional and seasonal patterns, which resulted from the transfer from soil to grazing plants of these animals. A periodic maximum in autumn was correlated with the mushroom season in forests. In the largest forest in this region, the transfer soil to roe deer was significantly higher in spruce than in mixed parts of this forest. In the soil in the spruce stand, the highest fraction of the total cesium radionuclide inventory was found in the Oh horizon rich in organic matter. At an area in the spruce stand treated mainly with CaCO3 in 1984, the transfer soil to plant was reduced by a factor of 4–5 compared to the neighbouring untreated area.