Current 137Cs accumulation by mushrooms in different site types of scots pine forests of Ukrainian Polissia

Abstract

The study of 137Cs radioactive contamination of fruiting bodies of mushrooms was carried out in September - October 2022 in 18 sampling sites laid out in the Korosten district of Zhytomyr region in 3 of the most widespread forest site types (FST): fresh infertile pine site type (А2), fresh fairly infertile pine site type (В2) and moist fairly infertile pine site type (В3). It was found that the highest levels of 137Cs content in investigated FST were characteristic of symbiotrophic mushroom species - Сortinarius mucosus, Сortinarius caperatus, Sarcodon imbricatus, Imleria badia, Tricholoma equestre, Paxillus involutus, Hygrophorus hypothejus, and the lowest - for xylotrophes-saprotrophes such as Armillaria mellea and Tapinella atrotomentosa. When analyzed, it was shown that interspecific differences of average values of 137Cs aggregated transfer coefficient (Tag) among mushrooms in each FST varied in a wide range: they reached 1.1⋅103 times in FST-A2 - from 435 in Cortinarius mucosus to 0.4 m2⋅kg-1⋅10-3 in Armillaria mellea; 71.4 times - in FST-B2 - from 162 in Sarcodon imbricatus to 2.3 m2⋅kg-1⋅10-3 in Armillaria mellea; and 12 times - in FST-B3 - from 111 in Imleria badia to 9.2 m2⋅kg-1⋅10-3 in Leccinum scabrum. Also, it was shown that in genus Russula even in the same FST-B2 among five studied species a 24-fold change in average values of 137Cs Tag are observed - from 67 in Russula vinosa to 2.8 m2⋅kg-1⋅10-3 in Russula aeruginea. The results of ANOVA were discussed as well as the essentiality of the difference of the average values of Tag in mushroom species in different FST.