RADIOCESIUM BEHAVIOR IN MEDITERRANEAN CONDITIONS

The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of the particular cond itions of the Mediterranean area on radiocaesium behaviour. Sampling w as carried out during spring and summer 1988 (two years after the Cher nobyl accident). Sampling points were chosen, according to vegetation and lithology combinations, in the northern Catalonia (NE Spain). Fort y-seven plots were sampled, including forest, shrublands, grasslands a nd croplands. The data obtained showed general low deposition from Che rnobyl (<30-2 200 Bq m-2) and relatively high remaining activity from fallout (500-10 500 B1 m-2), this fact indicating the low radiocaesium mobility. In plants, no root uptake was detected, showing only activi ty coming from Chernobyl. Significant positive correlation was found b etween Cs-137 specific activity and soil organic matter, independently of land use. High faunal activity was recognized among the forest flo or layers and the upper mineral soil, this fact being a distinctive fe ature of Mediterranean forest.