Kinetics of caesium and potassium absorption by roots of three grass pastures and competitive effects of potassium on caesium uptake in Cynodon sp.

JURI AYUB J.; RUBIO VALVERDE, L.; GARCIA-SANCHEZ, M.; FERNANDEZ, J.; VELASCO H.

AIP CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

American Institute of Physics

Lugar: New York; Año: 2008 vol. 1034 p. 269 - 272

0094-243X

Caesium uptake by plant roots has been normally associated with the uptake of potassium as the potassium transport systems present in plants have also the capacity to transport caesium. Three grass species (Eragrostis curvula, Cynodon sp and Distichlis spicata) growing in seminatural grassland of central Argentina were selected to study their capability to incorporate Cs+ (and K+) using electrophysiological techniques. Although the 137Cs soil inventory ranged between 328- 730 Bq m-2 in this region, no 137Cs activity was detected in these plants. However, all the species, submitted previously to K+ starvation, showed the uptake of both Cs+ and K+ .