First application of plutonium in soil erosion research on terraces

Abstract The spatial distributions of 239+240 Pu and 137 Cs in soils from Longji Rice Terraces were investigated to evaluate soil erosion. activity concentrations the surface paddy fields range 0.089–0.734 1.80–7.88 mBq/g, respectively. activities showed very similar distribution trends, first increasing then decreasing with elevation. 240 Pu/ 239 atom ratios ranged 0.162 0.232. cores tended be uniformly distributed within plowed layer declined exponentially below this depth. mean erosion rates estimated by tracer methods 5.44 t/(ha·a) 5.16 t/(ha·a), respectively, which demonstrated that plutonium can replace as an ideal for research future. Landform features are main factors affecting well Terraces.