Measurement of 137Cs in cultivated soils from two loess areas in Poland

In this paper, a vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in agricultural soil was investigated. ¹³⁷Cs is an anthropogenic radioisotope which is strongly adsorbed in soil and can be used to study soil erosion. This paper presents some preliminary results of measurements of activity of ¹³⁷Cs in soil in Bia?a and Odonów areas. In both areas, the upper part of the soil profile was cultivated. The experimental results show that the vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in agricultural soil is different from the vertical distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in undisturbed soil. The ¹³⁷Cs is more uniformly distributed in the cultivated soil layer than in an undisturbed site. Migration of ¹³⁷Cs below plough depth is limited. These data show that the depth distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in soil profiles for cultivated fields should be considered for precise determination of soil erosion.